When a hockey player has a breakout year that exceeds all expectations, it can draw speculation from fans about the possibility of a “one-year wonder”; Alex Tuch is looking to avoid falling into this category.
Tuch is a 27-year-old right winger for the Buffalo Sabres who had a career-best season in 2022-23. The seven-year NHL veteran posted career-highs across the stat sheet with 36 goals and 43 assists for 79 points in 74 games played last season.
It was a breakout campaign for Tuch, who broke the 30-goal plateau for the first time in the NHL. It was also the first time in his professional hockey career with over a point per game, averaging 1.06. Prior to 2022-23, his best season was back in 2018-19 with the Vegas Golden Knights, potting 20 goals and 52 points in 74 games played. With a significant increase in production last season, one has to wonder if he can replicate his individual success for years to come, or if this is a one-and-done situation.
What Sparked Tuch’s Breakout?
In 2022-23, Tuch took on an increased role with the Sabres, averaging a career-high 19:09 time on ice per game. The forward made the most of the opportunity, as he also fired the puck on net at a higher rate than ever with a career-best 218 shots on goal with a 16.5 shooting percentage.
Since being acquired by Buffalo via trade in a package from Vegas in exchange for Jack Eichel, the 27-year-old has taken on a big role in the Sabres’ top-six forward group. The change of scenery and an increased role has been beneficial for Tuch, who has become an integral piece of what the Sabres are trying to accomplish.
The trade gave Tuch a new start after having career-worst years in 2019-20 and 2020-21 with the Golden Knights, posting 26 goals with 50 points in 97 games over the two seasons combined. The Syracuse, New York-born forward was given little opportunity in his final two seasons with the Golden Knights and took on a larger role since heading back to his home state to play in the blue and gold.
Skinner-Thompson-Tuch
With an increased role in Buffalo, Tuch has shared the ice with highly-skilled linemates Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson on the Sabres’ top line. Obviously, this has been a positive for him, who has reaped the benefits of playing with two of the team’s most offensively gifted players.
Jeff Skinner
Skinner is a 13-year NHL veteran who has recorded 30 or more goals in six seasons, posting 35 in 2022-23. The 31-year-old left winger is a strong skater with a high hockey IQ, great patience, smooth hands and a knack for scoring goals. Getting the puck onto the stick of the two-time NHL All-Star in high-danger areas of the ice often results in the puck winding up in the back of the net. Skinner’s ability to find open space in the offensive zone makes him a threat for opponents to deal with and a pleasure to share the ice with as a linemate.
Tage Thompson
Thompson has quickly emerged as one of the best power forwards in the NHL, posting an impressive 85 goals and 102 points in 156 games over the last two seasons. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound center is a dominant force with smooth hands and a wicked shot, the combination of his size and smooth hands make him a nightmare for opponents to deal with when he has the puck on his stick. He has the ability to score goals in bunches, which was on full display last season with seven multi-goal games and four hat-tricks. The star forward was firing on all cylinders on Dec. 7, 2022, when he tied Dave Andreychuk’s single-game franchise record of five goals in a 9-4 Sabres win against the Columbus Blue Jackets (from ‘Dave Andreychuk on Tage Thompson joining him in Sabres 5-goal history: ‘He’s special’,’ The Athletic, Dec. 9, 2022).
Playing with a pair of proven goal scorers such as Skinner and Thompson would be beneficial for just about anyone, and Tuch had plenty of success on the top unit in 2022-23. The trio of players share a strong chemistry that makes them potent in the offensive zone and a threat to score any time they touch the ice. With these linemates, his responsibility is to work hard and retrieve pucks, allowing him to simplify his game from the right wing.
The line of Skinner, Thompson, and Tuch combined for a total of 118 goals last season, which was 40.27 percent of the goals scored by Buffalo. What makes this even more impressive is the Sabres ranked second in the NHL in total team goals with 301.
Tuch’s Power Play Contributions
In 2022-23 the Sabres had the ninth-best power play percentage in the league, converting on 23.4 percent of their opportunities with a man advantage. Playing a role as a major contributor on one of the NHL’s best power play units has been a great opportunity for Tuch.
With a total of eight goals and 20 points on the power play, the man advantage wasn’t the be-all-end-all for Tuch last season, but it was certainly useful in padding his stats. With a highly skilled offensive group, the Sabres are lethal on the power play and Tuch is a fixture on this unit.
There’s no reason to expect a drop-off in production from this power play unit in the upcoming 2023-24 season, as the scoring talent in Buffalo is loaded with young weapons. Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power are only getting better from the point, and the talent up front is filled with scoring prowess. With the return of a strong power play unit, it’s fair to expect more contributions from Tuch on special teams.
What’s Next for Tuch?
Heading into his eighth NHL season and his third campaign in Buffalo, the expectations have never been higher for Tuch. After posting a career-best year, the veteran forward should be motivated to put up another big season as the Sabres try to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2010-11 season. If they are going to get over the hump and find themselves playing postseason hockey, they’ll likely need a similar effort from Tuch in 2023-24.
Outside of last year’s 79-point season, Tuch has only had one other season with 50 or more points and that was in 2018-19. However, the forward has never played a full 82-game regular season and hasn’t had the opportunity to consistently play with top-tier talent like he does in Buffalo.
Even if it’s not another season averaging over a point per game, Tuch can still be a factor for the Sabres in 2023-24. He should be expected to score at least 20 goals with 50-plus points in the upcoming NHL season. If he can do that, it should be considered a success, anything more than that is just icing on the cake.