Camp Notebook | Tuch on extension talks: ‘I would love to be here long term’

When the Buffalo Sabres opened training camp Wednesday, general manager Kevyn Adams detailed his efforts to sign forward Alex Tuch to a contract extension, reiterating that there’s mutual interest between team and player to reach an agreement.

On Thursday, Tuch echoed that sentiment.

“I’ve been just letting my agents handle all the talking,” said the 29-year-old, who’s scheduled for unrestricted free agency next July 1. “I love Buffalo, I love being a Buffalo Sabre and I would love to be here long term.

“… Obviously the market’s shifting, and I know Kevyn touched on that, and we’re just kind of seeing how everything plays out. But it’s been good, productive talks.”

Tuch missed the Sabres’ first official practice Thursday due to a minor injury but hopes to begin participating in team sessions within the next couple days. Under contract for $4.75 million this season, he’s confident these negotiations won’t become any sort of distraction for him or his teammates with meaningful hockey games less than a month away.

“I’m gonna do everything in my power to be the best person and player I can be for the Buffalo Sabres,” Tuch said. “I’m pretty good at shutting out all the outside noise and just focusing on the day-to-day task. And right now, I’ve obviously been rehab skating, and I’ve been focusing on that, and I’ll be focusing on my first preseason game whenever that comes around, and into the regular season.”

Added Tage Thompson, Tuch’s across-the-street neighbor and fellow alternate captain: “Right now his focus seems on just being ready for the season and helping the team win. … Obviously he’s a big piece to this team and someone we lean on very heavily.”

Tuch enters 2025-26 with high hopes for both himself and the team. Last season, he played all 82 games, tied a career high with 36 goals – second most on the team – and earned his first Selke Trophy votes for his terrific defensive performance. This year, he’s aiming for more consistent greatness, a top-five Selke finish and a spot on the United States’ Olympic roster in Milano-Cortina, Italy.

For now, however, stars and stripes, contract talks and personal accolades are taking a backseat role to the upcoming regular season. Tuch expressed plenty of optimism about these Sabres, whose offseason additions – Michael Kesselring, Josh Doan, Justin Danforth, Conor Timmins and Alex Lyon, among others – will complement the young, still-maturing roster.

• Camp Countdown | How did the Sabres improve this offseason?

“I’m just really excited,” Tuch said. “Some of the new guys have come in and really impressed me; they fit into our locker room really well right away.

“I think it’s going to be a really good year. I honestly think the guys who have been here are gonna have career years and are going to be looking to make jumps in their careers and in their game. And the new guys we brought in, I think, are gonna mesh well with us and fit into our style of play really well and help us win games.”

Here’s more from the first official day of team practices.

New approach to camp groups

Whereas in past years, training camp groups have included a mix of NHL and AHL players, Thursday’s practices included a distinct Sabres group first, then a Rochester Americans group second. This arrangement will allow the Sabres to better establish chemistry and prepare for the regular season.

“We’re going to scrimmage on Saturday, and obviously things will change, but to try to kickstart where we want to get to, we just felt it was important,” said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff. “If we’re going to compete against the top guys, it’ll make us better. If we’re going to try to learn from those couple of drills we did, on a teaching front, it’s better that it’s all NHL guys. And we want our AHL team to be in the same category.”

• Full 2025 training camp roster

Both groups had a notable inclusion. Mason Geertsen, a 6-foot-4 forward Ruff labeled an "enforcer" – Geertsen played for Ruff's Devils in 2021-22 – skated with the NHL group on the fourth line. And the Amerks' lines included 2025 first-round pick Radim Mrtka on the first defense pair. The 18-year-old Mrtka figures to return to the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds to start the season, but he proved in the Prospects Challenge that he can compete with AHL-level talent.

Here's how both groups lined up:

Conditioning first

Before any pucks hit the LECOM Harborcenter ice Thursday morning, every player, two at a time, did several laps of what Ruff called a “compete skating drill”: skate up ice, circle two obstacles in the neutral zone; continue to the far goal line, weave around several cones and hustle back to the other end.

Adams said Wednesday that this would be a “really, really hard training camp,” in part due to the new strength and conditioning staff led by Brian Galivan, and that was clear from the jump. The fast-paced practice ended, too, with cross-ice sprints.

“I think it’s what training camp’s all about,” Thompson said. “… I think you set the standard on Day 1 and you keep it there, raise the bar every day and don’t let it dip.”

Ruff added that “there’s not anyone that has disappointed,” with their Day 1 fitness level, specifically praising Josh Norris and Jack Quinn for arriving at camp in such great shape.

Tage’s target

Thompson, like Tuch, enters camp hungry to improve upon a strong 2024-25 season. After a 44-goal, 72-point effort, the hard-shooting forward has larger numbers in mind.

“I'd love to hit 50 goals and 100 points – that'd be great,” Thompson said. “But I think priority is winning; if I'm doing those things, we're probably winning.

“But for me, I think ‘more to give’ means more about just consistency: being dominant every single night, not having any games where maybe I wasn't as noticeable or I didn't have as big of an impact on the game. I want to be someone that impacts the game every time I step over the boards, every time the puck is on my stick. I feel like I have the ability to get there, and I think I had a really good summer of training and put myself in a spot to do so.”