Insider Links Yet Another Contender to Sabres' Alex Tuch

With recent rumors emerging about what the Buffalo Sabres might do with their second-leading scorer Alex Tuch as the trade deadline approaches, another Eastern Conference team has been mentioned as a good trade fit, in the New Jersey Devils.

The Devils, as we all know, are trying to make an impact addition at forward. They tried, but failed, in an attempt to pry JT Miller from the Vancouver Canucks (who has since landed with the Devils' heated rival, the NY Rangers). They tried to sign UFA Brandon Saad, but he chose to go to Vegas, and they have also checked in on the Colorado Avalanche's Casey Mittelstadt.

Suffice it to say, GM Tom Fitzgerald won't give up trying to land some offense. The team has gone 7-9-3 since the Christmas break, averaging just 2.47 goals per game, as noted by insider Larry Brooks in the New York Post. He goes on to suggest the ideal target for the Devils to look at adding.

If Alex Tuch, who has one more year on his deal at a $4.75M cap hit, is available out of Buffalo (and why wouldn’t he be?), the Devils should be all in on the 28-year-old winger.

With 19 goals, he has a shot at his second 30-goal season in two years, and has tallied 89 goals in 253 games since coming to the Sabres four years ago. Tuch would be just the kind of player Fitzgerald should be targeting.

We know that the Sabres are struggling and are desperate to change things up. And with Tuch eligible for an extension on July 1, he will be in line for a hefty raise. Given he'll be 30 when his next contract kicks in, this might not be something the Sabres have a stomach for, with all their long-term deals already in place with younger players.

Tuch has already been linked to the Tampa Bay Lightning, per Elliotte Friedman, but the Sabres, if they do look to deal Tuch, would probably be happier sending him outside their own division, giving New Jersey a leg up.

The Devils, however, currently have only about $1.47 million in salary cap space, so they'll probably have to shed a contract or two to make any deal for Tuch a reality.