Getty

Alex Tuch of the Buffalo Sabres.

On Tuesday, there were no less than four blockbuster deals, with Simon Nemec, William Eklund, Bowen Byram and Jordan Kyrou acquired by Calgary, Ottawa, Chicago and Washington respectively. These deals were absolute shocks, and with plenty of draft capital being moved, it’s clear that teams are ready to load up ahead of the draft.

With just two days until the 2026 NHL Draft, there was always going to be player movement, but nobody quite expected four massive trades to occur within four hours of each other. It appears as though the chaos ahead of the draft has not subsided however, as the Buffalo Sabres were expected to move veteran winger Alex Tuch in a sign-and-trade before free agency begins on July 1st.

Washington Capitals to Acquire Alex Tuch

GettyAlex Tuch of the Buffalo Sabres.

Despite being the team to acquire Jordan Kyrou on Tuesday for Connor McMichael, a prospect and the No. 16 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the Washington Capitals are not sitting back on their heels and waiting for the off-season to come to them.

After the speculation surrounding Tuch, the team got aggressive on Wednesday, and according to Elliotte Friedman, they’re acquiring Tuch and signing him to a long-term extension worth $10.5 million AAV across eight seasons.

The Capitals will be acquiring a supremely talented 30-year-old who had another 30 goal season in 2025/26, making it his third in the past four seasons as he’s tallied 36, 22, 36 and 33 over that span. Obviously, this is a major risk for the Capitals by signing a 30-year-old to an eight-year extension, but given the core pieces that they’ve already got in Washington, adding Tuch is a move that could pay off in a very promising way.

According to reports, it will be a mid-round pick that’s headed back to the Sabres in this deal, and while it’s not a massive price to pay for the Capitals, it’s a shrewd piece of business for Jarmo Kekalainen and Buffalo, who get a solid pick back for a player that was departing in free agency anyway.

Washington Capitals Make two Major Additions

The Capitals were not a team that many expected to get incredibly aggressive on the trade market this off-season, but with the future of captain and franchise G.O.A.T. Alex Ovechkin up in the air, it’s safe to say that they wanted to get some pieces to shore up the future beyond 2025/26.

In Tuch, the team are going to get one of the most consistent forwards in the National Hockey League, as he’s averaged a very good 68 points across four full seasons with the Sabres after being acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights. Right now, the future of Ovechkin isn’t known, but if the team are seeing the end of the Great 8, these moves will go a long way to solidifying the roster around their young, emerging core.

It may end up being considered an overpay, but the Capitals are confident that acquiring Tuch for eight years will help them achieve their goal of getting back to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2018, with the team getting aggressive to add two very good veterans in the past 24 hours.