Sabres' Alex Tuch future plans get update from Elliotte Friedman

Sabres' Alex Tuch future plans get update from Elliotte Friedman originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Buffalo Sabres and Alex Tuch reached a key checkpoint in their relationship earlier this month when the NHL trade deadline arrived.

A rebuilding Buffalo team would've traded away Tuch as he approaches the expiration of his contract. These Sabres kept him. It's up to Tuch to play well in the postseason and validate that as a solid decision.

And how well Tuch plays as the stage gets bigger could determine his contract for the future. The trickiest part may be aligning whether Buffalo really wants to keep him long term versus what his play dictates the Sabres should do. MORE: Oilers might be closer to Connor McDavid nightmare than it appears In a new 32 Thoughts column , Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman broke down the complicated setup.

"Buffalo’s new regime’s budged a bit with Alex Tuch, but obviously not enough yet that we’ve got a deal," Friedman writes. "It’s always hardest on the player, but there’s a lot of experience in the negotiations (Jarmo Kekalainen and Josh Flynn on one side, the Bartlett family on the other). No one’s going to panic.