Alex Tuch’s teammates waste no time sticking him with the tab
The lucrative contract extension Alex Tuch signed with the Golden Knights on Friday won’t officially kick in until next season.
That didn’t excuse him from picking up the dinner check for his teammates hours after the deal was done.
“Yeah, I paid for dinner last night,” the 22-year-old said Saturday before the Knights hosted the Ducks at T-Mobile Arena. “They kindly passed me the check. I’ve definitely been getting razzed, and I expect nothing less.”
Friday’s dinner was with Shea Theodore, Cody Eakin and their significant others. Tuch will still have to pick up the tab for a team dinner at some point, but he expects to allow his financial adviser to handle most of the newfound wealth from his seven-year, $33.25 million deal.
Tuch believes it’s a reward for a lifetime of determination he’s put into his dream.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, honestly,” he said. “I just can’t stop smiling. All I’ve ever done is work hard and try not to worry about what I can’t control. I guess you can say it kind of worked out in my favor and honestly, I’m a really lucky guy.”
The new deal is a milestone, but not a destination.
While the Knights clearly believe in Tuch’s future, they are betting he continues to improve at the rate he has since he was acquired from the Wild as part of an expansion draft deal.
“He has a long way to go in terms of being a top player,” general manager George McPhee said of locking Tuch up to a long-term deal. “He has a lot of work to do, but we expect there to be a lot of growth over the next few years, and if he does what he should do he should be a pretty good player.
“We do know he’s a big guy with speed and talent, and if we do all the right things, he can be a pretty good player.”
His coach has liked what he’s seen from the Syracuse, New York, native, who had 15 goals and 37 points in 78 regular-season games and added 10 more points in 20 playoff games.
“I really like what he brought to our team last year, obviously,” Gerard Gallant said. “He’s a big kid who can skate and score some goals. He’s still a young player, so we think he’s going to be real good. Obviously, that’s why they signed him long term and it’s a pretty good contract for him. I don’t know what his ceiling is going to be, but I know he’s going to be a good, solid player if he keeps getting better every year like he has.
“He’s just a kid. We’re expecting big things of him this year and for him to get better every year.”
Tuch has yet to play this season as he continues to recover from a lower body injury. He says he’s getting better every day and hopes to be nearing a return. Once he’s back, he can focus on improving his game and helping his team win instead of trying to audition for a contract for the next few seasons.
“I love the city. I love the fans, coaching staff, management and especially my teammates,” he said. “It’s unbelievable. Last year was a lot of fun to say the least. We have a close group in this locker room, and we’re going to keep a lot of these guys for the next good amount of years. I’m really excited to be their teammate and I want to be the best teammate I can be every day.”
The new deal came at a good time as his father, Carl, was in town. Tuch called him on the golf course, and his dad rushed over to congratulate his son as soon as the round was over.
“That was a pretty special hug,” Tuch said.
Odds and ends
— Deryk Engelland hoped to return to the lineup on Saturday after practicing in full on Friday, but was eventually scratched.
He remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury
— Former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal attended Saturday night’s game against the Ducks at T-Mobile Arena.
He got a rousing ovation as he cranked the rally siren during the pregame ceremony.
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