ARLINGTON, VA — Alex Tuch will reunite with some familiar faces when the Buffalo Sabres come to town this weekend.
On Saturday, Tuch is set to compete against his former team for the first time since joining the Capitals this offseason, ending a five-season tenure with his hometown Sabres. Sad as he was to leave his teammates behind, he is thrilled for the chance to face off against them in DC.
“I’ve just got a big dumb smile on my face, thinking about playing against those guys.” Tuch said Friday. “I love them death and miss them, but I’m really happy where I am right now. It’s going to be a really hard-fought battle.”
Tuch isn’t entirely new to the experience of playing against his former squad, spending most of his early career with the Vegas Golden Knights before they dealt him to Buffalo in 2021. But Saturday will be another beast, he thinks.
For one, he left the Golden Knights at just 25, while in Buffalo he’d become a trusted veteran with roots in the area. Tuch also wan’t the centerpiece of that 2021 trade: he was part of the return for Jack Eichel, a far larger star who captured the spotlight in the ensuing reunion game.
Five years later, Tuch bears the attention alone.
“In Vegas I was treated as a younger guy, and in Buffalo, now I’m moving on as an older guy,” he said. “It’s a little bit different. Got lot of guys that I’ve mentored there on Buffalo, [who] I spent a lot of time with, and we were a really close group. It will be a little bit different. And I think that first game against Vegas, a lot of the narrative was with Eichs and everything with that regard, so it’s a little bit more pressure on me this time around.”
Tuch, a Syracuse, NY native, relished the chance to play for the Sabres, who he’d grown up idolizing as a child.
“It was a dream come true,” he said Friday.
At the time, Buffalo was hardly a destination team, ranging from a middling squad to a bottom-feeder, and the group hadn’t made the postseason since 2011.
The Sabres’ fortunes didn’t change overnight, but both they and Tuch began to make progress. After a career high of 20 goals with Vegas, Tuch hit the 30-goal mark three times during his five years in Buffalo, and his 66 points (33g, 33a) in 2025-26 ranked third on the team.
More importantly to Tuch, last season’s Sabres finally broke their 14-season playoff drought, the longest in NHL history. Buffalo went on to beat the Boston Bruins in the first round and push the Montreal Canadiens to Game 7 before Canadiens forward Alex Newhook ended their run in overtime.
“We had a great group of people and a great group of players,” Tuch said of that playoff team. “I take a lot of pride in being the team that broke that streak. It just meant the world, putting on that jersey each and every day. I took great pride in that, and I felt like I left it out there every single night. It was a sad day when I knew I wouldn’t be continuing to do that.”
Buffalo technically traded Tuch to Washington, but as a pending free agent, Tuch had practical control of his destination. After he and the Sabres couldn’t negotiate a new contract, Tuch ultimately signed an eight-year deal worth $10.5 million per season as part of a sign-and-trade in late June.
“Leaving Buffalo, it was one of the hardest decisions of my life,” he said at the time.
But as difficult as that move may have been, Tuch was all smiles when talking about his former teammates on Friday, joking about going toe-to-toe with his longtime friends.
“Honestly I’ve gone in corners with those guys in practice so many times, it’s going to feel normal,” he said. “I’m waiting to see who’s the first one that’s going to give me a little cheap shot. My money’s on Benny (Zach Benson).”
Tuch has hardly missed a step transitioning to Washington. Nine games into the season, Tuch has notched a team-leading five goals and seven total points, regularly playing on the Capitals’ most-utilized line.
“It’s been good,” Tuch said of his time in DC. “I think I’ve created chemistry with a couple different players and different line combinations. I don’t think the systems are too much different here, so I’ve kind of been able to just take it in stride and just play my game and jump right into things.
“It’s a really fun group here, and they’ve been super welcoming, so I get to come in and be myself and don’t have to change anything. And I think that’s been a huge part of it here. Now we just got to continue to try to strive for that team’s success. I know we’re above .500, but I know we’re not happy by any means.”
His new teammates, all too aware of Saturday’s importance to Tuch, have already started teasing him about the upcoming matchup.
“(They’ve talked about it) a little bit,” he said. “I’m sure they’ll be talking about it a little bit more tomorrow. I’m sure they will. They were giving me crap about something earlier already, so it’s been fun. They keep it light in this room, and it’s good. I always have a big smile on my face when I come in and being around the guys.”
Some things stay the same even after the trade. The Sabres traditionally visit the same sushi restaurant whenever they’re in DC, and Tuch will join them there again on Friday night.
“I’m excited, going to dinner with a big group of guys tonight,” he said. “It’ll be good to see them and hopefully hear some new stories.”
Then, after a night of fun with his old squad, Tuch will suit up for a game with his new one. Puck drop against Buffalo is set for 7 pm on Saturday night.
