Trade Buzz: Tuch ‘focused on being a Buffalo Sabre’

Welcome to the NHL Trade Buzz. There are 13 days remaining until the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline (3 p.m. ET; March 6). Here's a look around the League at the latest Deadline doings:

Buffalo Sabres

Alex Tuch is in the final year of his contract and can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, which might make the 29-year-old forward a leading candidate to be moved before the Trade Deadline in another season. But Tuch said he’s not thinking about whether he’ll be traded with the Sabres (32-19-6) holding the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference and trying to secure their first postseason berth since 2007.

“I haven't focused on that,” Tuch told the Buffalo News on Friday. “Honestly, like I said, I'm just focused on playing the next game. I'm focused on being a Buffalo Sabre and doing whatever I can to help our team win.”

The Sabres have been in discussions with Tuch about a new long-term contract since before Jarmo Kekalainen replaced Kevyn Adams as general manager on Dec. 15, but they have yet to reach an agreement with the Trade Deadline looming. Tuch is second on Buffalo in goals (22) and points (48) in 56 games this season behind Tage Thompson (30 goals, 59 points).

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets are in a good position coming out of the break for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, four points out of a playoff spot. So, does that impact how they approach the Trade Deadline?

"If we're in the playoff mix, I don't know if that changes our thinking or my thinking," Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell said in an interview with the team website on Wednesday. "Because you look at it, the one thing we probably won't do is go out and try to add (unrestricted free agents) at the Deadline. You might go around the edges a little bit, but having in particular three forwards that play good roles on our team, to add another (UFA) and give up assets probably doesn't make sense.

"If we could trade for somebody that has term, that we like going forward, that's a different value that we look at. We'll see. All the UFAs right now on our team play a good role for our team, so if you take anybody off, you're going to have to replace them because of the positions that they play."

The Blue Jackets (29-20-7) are 10-1-0 under Rick Bowness, who was named coach after Dean Evason was fired on Jan. 13, and are four points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card in the East.

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets haven't had the success they've hoped for this season and that could mean roster changes at the Deadline. Logan Stanley knows he could be a potential trade target.

"Everyone knows what is going on," the defenseman told the Winnipeg Free Press on Wednesday. "Everybody sees the rumors and whatnot. I'll just take it day by day and see how it plays out."

The 27-year-old is in the final season of a two-year, $2.5 million contract ($1.25 million average annual value) he signed with the Jets on July 6, 2024. He's also having his best season in the NHL, with career highs in points (18) and goals (nine) in 55 games. Stanley never had more than one goal in each of his past five seasons. The Jets (22-26-8), who won the Presidents' Trophy for the best overall record in 2024-25, are 11 points behind the Anaheim Ducks for the second wild card in the West.

Stanley told the Free Press that his agent Pat Morris and the Jets, "are going to have a conversation in the coming days. What that entails, we'll see."

New York Rangers

The Rangers let their fans know that they'll be retooling their roster this season in a letter on Jan. 16, and they've already traded a few players. But goaltender Jonathan Quick does not want to meet the same fate.

"I'm happy here. I want to be here," Quick told the New York Post after practice on Thursday. "It means a lot to me to wear this jersey."

Quick (lower body) left practice early Saturday for precautionary reasons.

The 40-year-old signed a one-year, $1.55 million contract with the Rangers on March 12. Quick has 408 wins, 12th all-time among goaltenders and second among active goalies (Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers; 450).

"When I signed the contract, I planned on honoring the contract," Quick told the Post earlier this week. "The focus is always where you're at and what you're doing currently. That's where the focus has been and will continue to be."

The Rangers (22-29-6) are 19 points behind the Bruins for the second wild card in the East. They traded defenseman Carson Soucy to the New York Islanders on Jan. 26 for a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, but their biggest move came when they traded forward Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 4 for forward Liam Greentree and two conditional draft picks on Feb. 4.

Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks will face a tough task to make the playoffs this season, so there could be some players on the move. Whether Nick Foligno is one of them remains to be seen. The Blackhawks captain loves playing for Chicago but knows it's a possibility and wouldn't frown on playing for a Cup contender.

"I'd be lying if I said no, right?" Foligno told The Athletic on Wednesday. "There's a huge part of me that wants that. That's the ultimate goal, and when you're all done, it's just you want to know that you gave yourself every chance to win a Stanley Cup. So, yeah, there's that, for sure, in the back of my mind. Do I want it to be with this group? Yeah, you know, badly, and that's why I said I'll assess that when the time comes. A lot can change in a week and a bit, right? So, it [stinks] that we're kind of not right where I'd like us to be before the break, but that's the way it goes."

Foligno is in the final season of the two-year, $9 million contract ($4.5 million AAV) he signed on Jan. 9, 2024. The 38-year-old has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 33 games this season.

The Blackhawks (22-26-9) are 10 points behind the Ducks for the second wild card in the West.

St. Louis Blues

Robert Thomas is aware he could be traded, especially with the Blues currently out of the playoff picture.

“It’s part of it. We know where we’re at in the standings,” the forward said Friday. “When you’re in this position, stuff like that happens. You’ve just got to own it. I’m a big part of the reason we’re here to where we’re at. I know stuff like that’s going to come and go. It’s been happening for the last couple of years.”

Thomas returned to practice Friday after having a minor procedure on his leg in early February and is expected to return out of the Olympic break. He hasn’t played since Jan. 10 due to his lower-body injury and has 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) in 42 games, second on the Blues to forward Pavel Buchnevich, who has 34 points.

Thomas has four years remaining on the eight-year $65 million contract ($8.125 million average annual value) he signed with St. Louis on July 13, 2022; the contract started in 2023-24. He also has a full no-trade clause he would have to waive in order to be traded.
“I don’t really want to talk too much about it now. We’ll talk about it later,” Thomas said. “I have one. That’s kind of where we’re at.”

The Blues (20-28-9) are 14 points behind the Ducks for the second wild card in the West.