Here is what The Athletic had to say about the Sabres Top Line
3. While all eyes are on Eichel at the moment, some attention should be given to the player Buffalo landed in the deal: Alex Tuch.
Tuch has fully embraced Buffalo as his home which can hopefully create an infectious attitude that helps shift the franchise’s losing culture. It helps a lot that he’s been playing spectacular hockey along the way. Buffalo got a real good one here.
In just 16 games as a Sabre, Tuch has seven goals and 19 points, a 97-point pace over a full season that would eclipse Eichel’s best pace as a Sabre of 94 points. Now, it’s unlikely that Tuch does keep that up — his on-ice shooting percentage is 14.4 percent — but the fact he’s even flashing this kind of offensive upside suggests he can be a real bonafide top-line player. That’s a massive get for Buffalo and the proof is in the underlying numbers where the Sabres, a team that routinely gets badly out-chanced, has 53 percent of the scoring chances with Tuch on the ice. No one else on the team is above breakeven.
All of that has come on a line with Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson who have earned 59 percent of the expected goals together in 100 minutes. Those are incredible numbers for a top line and that’s a great start for Buffalo’s rebuild redux. Keeping that up would be a massive win for the Sabres and that starts with Tuch. Skinner should be especially thankful. Since being placed on a line with Tuch full-time, the overpaid winger has 11 goals and 17 points in 16 games. That’s the type of play that makes him worth his lofty price tag.