I would think that Tuch being out is more because he is a known commodity for the Sabres. He is the oldest returning forward, and one of the more consistent players that the Sabres have. He has generally started his seasons strong (when healthy), and is not very likely to have significantly improved or declined compared to the last couple seasons. When it comes to figuring out the roster and where to slot players and how they play with the team, he’s less of a question mark than pretty much anybody else, so it makes sense that he gets a break.