Tuch 'couldn't pass up' contract, chance to play with Capitals

WASHINGTON -- Alex Tuch knew the question was coming, the one he described as, "the question I've been trying to avoid for a long time."

It wasn't about the 30-year-old forward's reasoning for not re-signing with the Buffalo Sabres, or his sign-and-trade deal to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday and the eight-year, $84 million contract ($10.5 million average annual value) what went with it.

It was about "The Save."

Tuch was the player on the other end of one of the biggest moments in Capitals history -- goalie Braden Holtby's sprawling stick paddle save with 1:59 remaining in the third period of Game 2 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final that preserved a 3-2 victory against Tuch and the Vegas Golden Knights and evened the best-of-7 series.

Washington also won the next three games for its first Stanley Cup championship.

"What's that saying? If you can't beat them, join them," Tuch said Friday. "That was my rookie season. That save was incredible. I talked to Holtby in the line after, and he said it was the lucky save of his life, so that made me feel a little bit better, but not really at the same time because he was shaking my hand after winning the Cup.

"That was an incredible save, but at the same time, it was an incredible experience for me. I hated that I came up short. It bothers me to this day that we didn't win that Stanley Cup."

Winning the Cup remains Tuch's motivation, and he'd like nothing more to be part of that kind of history with the Capitals. They made the bold move to acquire the three-time 30-goal scorer -- trading a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft and forward David Kampf (who is on an expiring contract) -- and work out the maximum-length contract before he could become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Washington (43-30-9) missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season, finishing three points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third in the Metropolitan Division, but Tuch thinks it can rebound next season with center Pierre-Luc Dubois healthy after being limited to 29 games by injuries and promising young players such as forwards Ryan Leonard, 21, and Ilya Protas, 19, and defenseman Cole Hutson, 19, a year older.

In fact, Tuch believes the Capitals, who finished first in the Eastern Conference in 2024-25 (51-22-9), is in a position to similar to the Florida Panthers, who were riddled by injuries and missed the playoffs this season after winning the Stanley Cup the previous two.

"Sometimes you get to somewhere and you have to take a step back to take two steps forward, and I think that's kind of what the Capitals are going to be able to do," Tuch said. "I think last year, they were able to utilize a lot of their young guys with some of the injuries and give them a lot of experience in that situation.

"I do think that coming in I can help those young guys, but also I think that they still have a really good core between (Dylan) Strome and (Aliaksei) Protas, Dubois, (Tom) Wilson, guys that have been in the League for a really long time that have a lot of experience and have had a lot of success. So, I think I'll slot in nicely with that. And also they brought in (Jordan) Kyrou, which I think is a huge addition as well."

Washington acquired Kyrou, another three-time 30-goal scorer, in a trade with the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday for forward Connor McMichael, forward prospect Milton Gastrin and a first-round pick (No. 16) in the 2026 NHL Draft.

One player Tuch didn't mention was Alex Ovechkin, who holds the NHL record with 929 career goals. On an expiring five-year, $47.5 million contract ($9.5 million AAV), Ovechkin, who will turn 41 on Sept. 17, has yet to say whether he will return for a 22nd season.

Tuch is among those hoping Ovechkin will be back.

"I would love to get to know him," Tuch said. "He's such a legend. He's going to be a Hall of Famer and is the greatest goal-scorer ever. If I can learn a little bit from him, that would be incredible."

A native of Syracuse, New York, who grew up rooting for the Sabres, Tuch acknowledged leaving them "was one of the hardest decisions of my life." He played five seasons for Buffalo after being acquired in a trade with Vegas in 2021 and helped the Sabres qualify for the playoffs this season for the first time since 2011, finishing second on the team in goals (33) behind forward Tage Thompson (40) and third in points (66) in 79 regular-season games.

But the trade to Washington was made after Tuch was unable to agree on another contract with Buffalo. Coincidentally, he's spending the weekend with many of his former Sabres teammates at the wedding of defenseman Bowen Byram, who was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.

"Going through the process, it's a business and you realize how much of a business it is," Tuch said. "… I really focused on what I thought was the best opportunity for me, both capitalizing on free agency and also on the hockey. I wanted to go to a team that is going to be super competitive for a very long time because I think I'm in the prime of my career.

"Also, you don't get to go to free agency a lot, so this this an opportunity that I couldn't pass up, and I needed to do what I felt was best for my family and I."