BUFFALO – Alex Tuch always starts with himself. The Sabres winger knows he underperformed last season, failing to meet high expectations following his career year. Then he looks at the entire team and challenges everyone to be better.
The disappointment he experienced last season – his own struggles and the Sabres’ lackluster 84-point finish – drives him.
“First and foremost, I know I need to be better,” Tuch said last month after training camp opened in KeyBank Center. “… Going past that, each of us in that locker room have to push the guy next to us. Raising that standard individually, small groups and as a full team.”
On paper, that team looks pretty darn good entering today’s NHL Global Series season opener against the New Jersey Devils in Prague, Czechia.
The Sabres, despite missing the playoffs last year, boast some of the NHL’s best young talent. Lindy Ruff, the winningest coach in franchise history, has returned for his second stint. They addressed perhaps their biggest need, grit, by adding four forwards for their third and fourth lines.
In Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, one of the league’s elite goalies down the stretch last season, they might possess the franchise netminder they’ve been searching for since they traded Ryan Miller more than 10 years ago.
If the Sabres end their NHL-record 13-year playoff drought, a lot will have to go right.
A new coach, some extra oomph and a goalie capable of stealing games will certainly go a long way. But if Tuch, 28, and some of the Sabres’ other top scorers don’t recapture their scoring prowess, it’s hard to see them making an impact in the crowded Eastern Conference.
“Day in and day out (last season), I wasn’t good enough,” Tuch said. “I didn’t put myself and my team in a position for success, and I need to be better offensively and defensively.”
Of course, the Sabres, after missing the postseason by one win in 2022-23, expected to make their big jump last season. Instead, they stumbled out of the gate and never found a groove.
“Most of all, our team underachieved, and I take that personally,” said Tuch, who has been playing right wing on the first line alongside center Tage Thompson and JJ Peterka. “I look forward to the future and what we can do as a group. We want to make sure we remember that so we keep that bad taste in our mouth, but we also have to move forward.”
Tuch’s huge drop in production contributed to the Sabres’ woes. Statistically, he compiled his second-best offensive season last year. His 59 points tied for the team lead with defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. His 22 goals ranked fourth.
Those numbers, however, look feeble compared to his breakout 2023-24 season, when he scored 36 goals and 79 points in 74 games, one less appearance than last season.
He started slowly a year ago, registering only one point, an assist, in the first six games. He mustered just one goal in the first 11 contests.
While he showcased flashes of his slick form, he never enjoyed a torrid stretch until March.
“I have to have a better start to the season,” Tuch said. “I was better down the stretch. I had a little bit more consistency. I felt like my game was coming along. But it has to come along earlier. It has to be right from the start, right from Game 1 in Prague. I have to be a game-changer right away.”
Ruff loves the passion Tuch possesses.
“We need that drive from him,” said Ruff, a coach Tuch admired growing up as a Sabres fans in Baldwinsville. “I think he understands it first with himself. (He) said he wants to be better. He wants to be a guy that can be counted on, that can change the destination of our club. And I think you put everybody in that bucket of trying to be better.”
Tuch said earlier in his career, he might “kind of let the season slip away” and fall into a drought. Now, in good or bad times, he tries to evaluate his play every week.
“That comes with age and maturity is being able to do that,” said Tuch, who was named an alternate captain last week. “It allows you to become a more consistent player and not fall into those kind of rough patches for too long. … The second half of the year I was able to do that a little better. But first half, I definitely need to just have a little bit better of a start and use the momentum from there.
“I think that’s good to build confidence, build momentum from the start of the season right away, and you’re able to fall into (it) a lot easier instead of trying to grind back, and that comes from a personal and a team standpoint.”
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The Sabres on Thursday assigned center prospect Tyson Kozak to the Rochester Americans.
Kozak missed all of camp after suffering an upper-body injury during the Prospects Challenge rookie tournament.
The #Bills were battered by the #Ravens. @BillHoppeNHL and I discuss what happened, what needs to change and a lookahead to a critical game against the #Texans.https://t.co/VWTAJTqo17
— Nick Sabato (@NickSabatoGNN) October 3, 2024