Vegas Golden Knights: Alex Tuch is team’s secret weapon in 19-20

Alex Tuch has been a revelation for the Vegas Golden Knights since being acquired in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft and, although he’s still a relative unknown in hockey circles, 2019-20 could change that in a big way.

The right wing was mired in hockey obscurity before getting the call to set up home in Sin City, posting a plus/minus rating of -3 and being held without a point in six games for the Minnesota Wild in 2016-17 in his rookie year in the NHL.

However, and as is so often the case in both sports and in life in general, a change of scenery helped to get Tuch’s career off the ground as he truly blossomed in Vegas, recording 15 goals and 22 assists for 37 points in 78 games, including an additional 10 points (six goals, four assists) in the postseason as the Golden Knights made a stunning run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017-18.

More from Vegas Hockey Knight

• The moment the Vegas Golden Knights have been waiting for
• 3 Golden Knights players deserving of the Conn Smythe Trophy
• If Golden Knights win Stanley Cup, who should Mark Stone pass it to first?
• Why are Vegas Golden Knights fans obsessed with flamingos?
• Just one more game for Golden Knight supremacy

That was only the beginning. Fresh from signing a seven-year $33,250,000 contract in Oct, 2018, Tuch elevated his game to a whole new level and clearly benefited from playing alongside established stars in Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny for 21.52 percent of the season, finishing the year with career-highs in goals (20), assists (32), points (52) and plus/minus (13), and that was despite missing time at the start of the year through injury.

It is not just Tuch’s offensive upside that is impressive, though. He’s capable of playing a 200-foot game and can play hard in the defensive zone, as backed up by his 92 hits, 40 blocked shots and 69 takeaways last year. He also had a 54.7 CF% and a 56.9 oZS%, both of which further underlines his effectiveness when on the ice.

However, despite reaching the 50 point plateau last year, Tuch is still a bit of an unknown commodity in the NHL due to the fact that Vegas’ formidable top six unit demand much of the spotlight. That could all change in 2019-20 though with the 18th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft primed for another big year and a coming-of-age party when it comes to his stature within the league.

Likely to spend much of the year on the third-line, Tuch will be tasked with providing a deadly offensive punch lower down the lineup in order to help eradicate the problems the Knights have had when trying to generate secondary scoring from their bottom-six.

He’ll almost certainly have Cody Eakin and Brandon Pirri on his line to begin the year, and the latter should help to generate plenty of offense and high-danger scoring chances. Also, there is history between Eakin and Tuch with the two forging strong chemistry together last year. Half of Tuch’s 42 points when at five-on-five came with Eakin on his line, while Tuch and Pirri helped the Knights outscore their opponents 11-1 last year during 173 minutes together at even strength.

That should be encouraging for Vegas and for Tuch who will be the driving force on the third-line when it comes to providing offense. If he can get that line humming in the offensive zone and put up solid numbers to help support the potent top two-lines, then that would significantly help the Golden Knights’ cause of embarking on a deep postseason run.

Tuch should get some power play time too given the thunderous shot he has in his armoury but, as was the case following last year’s Trade Deadline, he finds himself hidden in the shadows behind Jonathan Marchessault and Mark Stone. Those two are the big hitters for Vegas and, as such, Tuch’s stock has taken a bit of a hit and, as a result, he has seen a reduction in his role on the team.

But, if he can achieve between 35-50 points on the third line, contribute on the man advantage and drive secondary scoring then there is no doubt that a lot more people in and around the NHL will be talking about Alex Tuch in 2019-20.

Plus, if injuries happen to plague the Golden Knights’ top-six this year, and fingers crossed they don’t, then Tuch has already proved that he is more than capable of playing higher up the line-up. He was fourth in points (52) on the team last year, behind only Reilly Smith (53), William Karlsson (56) and Jonathan Marchessault (59), all of whom are established first-liners.

Tuch had 10 more points than Paul Stastny and 12 more than Max Pacioretty last year, but finds himself behind Marchessault and Stone on the depth chart, which is understandable at this point given the pair’s larger sample size of work in the NHL.

However, not even near his prime at 23-years-old, Tuch will only continue to get better and he should flourish on a third-line that won’t get as much attention from the opposition compared to Vegas’ top-six unit. In theory, that should allow Tuch more time, space and freedom to be able to weave his magic on the ice and get somewhere near his points total from last year, which would be remarkable for a third-liner.

Alex Tuch has always been an a key piece of the supporting cast, taking on the part of a stock character rather than playing the leading man. However, should the right shot continue on his current upward trend and replicate his exploits from last year, then the rest of the NHL will have no choice but to start taking notice.