Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – Alex Tuch was on an 82-game pace of 40 goals and 48 assists for 88 points this season with the Buffalo Sabres. Thanks to missing eight games due to an ankle injury, he didn’t get there. However, he still had a career-high 36 goals and 43 assists for 79 points.
Listen to WGR now!
Coming into the year, Tuch’s career-high totals were 20 goals, 32 assists and 52 points. Many Sabres players had career years during the 2022-23 campaign, and the team itself won 40 games for the first time in 12 years.
"I saw a lot of growth from our team, and a lot of individual growth," said Tuch during his end-of-season press conference. "Obviously we came up short, as far as making the playoffs, but I thought we made really big steps in the right direction. I thought we made a lot of people in the City of Buffalo proud through our work ethic, our attitude and our emotion in this locker room. We really showed that we cared about that logo on the front of the jersey, and about the City of Buffalo in general."
As far as how he grew this season, Tuch feels his play was something he could be proud of.
"I thought I took a big step in my personal development as a player, and I thought I had a good year," he said.
"I was able to find a chemistry with several different players, especially 'Skinny' [Jeff Skinner] and 'Tommer' [Tage Thompson], two unbelievable players that were real easy to play with. At times, they made me look good."
Tuch says he’s definitely not content, because he thinks there’s more to accomplish. He feels he’ll continue to get better.
Sometimes a certain coach is made for a specific team, and Tuch feels this team was made for Don Granato.
"He really allowed guys to grow and develop," Tuch said of his head coach in Buffalo. "It was a learning experience for everybody, and this is only his second full year. He’s still learning about himself as a coach, so he knows sometimes you have to be more patient with a younger guy. He and his whole staff are able to hone in on that development, but also push to try to get the best out of each and every player as well, and also win a good amount of games. That’s a big step."
Thinking back to training camp, these players were talking playoffs. Not may outside the room were, so they used that as motivation to keep improving.
"It’s a confidence booster, because no one thought we were going to be in this position. I think they had us last in the league in a lot of polls," Tuch said. "'Oh, they’re going to make steps forward, but they’re still not going to be good.' We had a little bit of a chip on our shoulder, and we wanted to prove some people wrong, and I thought we did. But just to be that close and still the youngest team in the league, that gives these guys a lot of confidence."
The Sabres finished 19th in the league, two points out of 15th. They were also third in goal scoring.
Just last season, Buffalo finished 24th overall and 22nd in goal scoring.
Of course the expectation is playoffs for next season, and that’s fair. Tuch says that will be the talk around them, but feels there can be only one focus in that locker room.
"We’re going to be worrying about Game 1," he said. "If you look too far ahead, if you look at expectations or betting odds, it can get to people’s heads and it can lead to disappointment. So it’s something that you just can’t worry about."
Tuch is the ultimate team player. Everything he does is for the team, and that includes coming back early from his ankle injury.
"I was originally supposed to miss 4-to-6 weeks," Tuch explained. "I was lucky enough to be a faster healer, and there still was some risk coming back early, which was after 16 days that I ended up coming back and got cleared to play.
“There was a little bit of risk, but I thought the reward was a lot greater. I just wanted to come back and push, and try to help my team as much as possible in a run for the playoffs. So to go into battle with these guys, it was a no brainer."
Tuch came back in Toronto against the Maple Leafs and scored two big goals in a 4-3 win. After that, the injury seemed to slow him a bit, as he had no points in three games. Then he caught fire for the final 13 games, scoring six goals and nine assists for 15 points.
If you take Tuch’s career numbers over 82 games, he averages 24 goals and 32 assists for 56 points. Granato challenged him, telling him there is a lot more there, and Tuch proved it.
His 36 goals this year were 12 above his career average. His 43 assists were 11 over his career average, and his 79 points were 23 points above his career average.
General manager Kevyn Adams knew he was getting a very good player and human being when he acquired Tuch as part of the Jack Eichel trade, but I wonder if he knew he was getting a 40-goal scorer?
