The Jack Eichel saga has a new twist today, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the disgruntled Buffalo Sabres center will now be represented by Pat Brisson of CAA Sports. Eichel had previously been represented by Peter Fish and Peter Donatelli of Global Hockey Consultants.
The move comes less than a month after his previous representation released a statement to various media outlets, indicating that they expected Eichel to be traded prior to the start of NHL free agency. That didn’t seem to speed the process along at all, and as Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News wrote in a column earlier this month, it may well have made it more difficult for Sabres GM Kevyn Adams to complete a deal in the immediate aftermath.
Eichel is currently injured, and though both sides agree that surgery is required, the specific procedure is still a point of contention. It is not clear if there has been any movement on this front over the last few weeks, but a change in representation is significant nonetheless.
Brisson is not a small fish by any means, in fact, he is one of the leading power brokers among NHL agents. According to PuckPedia, he has negotiated more than $1 billion in active contracts and represents some of the most well-known stars in the game–Sidney Crosby, John Tavares, Jonathan Toews, Nathan MacKinnon, and Patrick Kane among them. Adding Eichel is obviously a win for the agency, but the player also now has even more power behind him.
Still, no matter how much juice his representation has, Eichel is still at the mercy of the Sabres at this point. Adams has been clear that the team will stay “in control of this process” and only trade their former franchise player when they receive an offer good enough. Fans of the team will be quite familiar with the concept of trading away disgruntled centers, and Adams is trying very hard not to have a repeat of the Ryan O’Reilly debacle of 2018.
That doesn’t mean it will be easy. It’s clear that while Eichel’s time in a Buffalo uniform is likely over, there is no simple resolution to be had.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
“Brisson is not a small fish…” – He’s not even a Peter Fish! Good one, @Gavin! :)
And, “…Adams is trying very hard not to have a repeat of the Ryan O’Reilly debacle of 2018.” – Too late, Mr. Adams, that meal is burned to the bottom of the skillet!
@MacJab,you should hear what they call me!
What’s that number of the arbitrator?
1-800-pancake
@Dave – You’re going to have to stop making me hungry during waking hours! That 800-number could also be used by the #43 train in D.C.! :)
@MacJab-Simmons labeled that. My cap guru ran with it.
43,good ole Trona boy.
Huh?
ROR debacle?
ROR got traded from the Avs because he wanted more $$$$.
He didn’t care about winning until he realized the grass is not always greener on the other side. GMJB messed up the return with that trade.
Eichel?
He wanted to get paid & took a max length contract. He could have taken or requested a 4 to 5 year deal instead.
The Sabres have their rights under the CBA & they can play hardball all they want for the next 5 seasons. GMKA is not doing anything wrong & he should stay firm.
hopefully the elitist brat will get the vid…
Maybe a new smiley Emoji on his Twitter account , lol
link to twitter.com
Mac Now I know what that smell is , can smelll it from here
@G – That smiley Emoji may end up resembling one Alfred E. Neuman! (What, me worry?) BTW, where’d your sunset go? Did you have the same HTTP error when trying to change, like I did?
That Emoji definitely has bushy eyebrows! Could be Jake Voracek in disguise!
Mac , yes I did due to electrical storm and a squirrel becoming fried in the transformer , lost internet for 8 hours and multiple losses in photos and few other things magically disappearing . Luckily have new digital camera
@G – Have you tried going back to an old post and retrieving the image from the PHR archives?
Mac, not exactly I lost all my photos and yes it is on few other sites or could copy from the website to where I live as I live on a State Campground near a State Park. I will just use that one here as it is new. wasn’t aware of archives I will check it out Thanks ! , as am not technologically as advanced as others. Eichel rumors on sites I mentioned here recently
I’d be interested to know if his new agent has experience in facilitating players’ desires to be traded. All the players listed essentially have stayed put (or didn’t have clients wanting out of a situation)
Duchene with Colorado, Dubois with CBJ were the two that I picked out on his roster.
Maybe eichel not being traded yet has less to do with his agent(s), and more to do with the fact he makes 10 million a year and needs neck surgery. I cant see him being traded until he can come back from the injury and prove he can still play up to his salary.
That means he gets the $10 million to sit until he gets the surgery.
Buffalo is willing to postpone the procedure even though they’re losing out on the money and production?
If I believed, as Eichel does, that this procedure was better for my long term health, I would drag my feet while collecting $10 million too.
Why risk it doing something you and your doctors disagree with?
Because the team wants him healthy, so they can trade him?
They still have to pay him.
Eichel has to report to training camp. He cannot just stay at home until he is traded.
How are you unaware that Eichel has a neck injury that requires surgery? Yeah hell definitely hafta be on the ice for them lol
I believe, he needs to report or otherwise the team can suspend him without pay. I.E. Dustin Byfuglien a couple years ago
Beyond that, there’s another factor. Even *with* Eichel, Buffalo’s well below the cap floor. If they unload him without getting most or all of that salary back, they have zero hope of making it.
If he cannot pass a physical/be cleared to play when he reports/during training camp he will find himself on LTIR. The Sabres can continue to do that for the next few seasons.
Billboard placed nearby all arenas….
Need Cap Space?
We are offering a 6th or 7th round pick to send you.
You give us a Veteran on a 1 year deal + a 1st round pick.
Veterans with 2 years left? A 1st round & a 2nd round picks (+ maybe another 2nd round or 3rd round pick).
Contact the Buffalo Sabres today!
How much does a player who can’t play help the team?
Either let him get the surgery or trade the guy but delaying the surgery and paying him seems like the worst choice to me.
Bringing a disgruntled injured player around the team doesn’t build good morale.
So they put him on LTIR and need to add another $10M to reach the cap floor or face fines and penalties which could include 1st round picks, just to stick to their guns and it still costs them the $10M to let him sit at home. Makes sense.
It’s about exercising their rights under the CBA. If enough team doctors & specialists are against a particular surgery (insurance company also?) the team has that right under the CBA. He signed a max length contract & he could have signed a 4 to 5 year deal. If he would have done that he would have been a FA now or next offseason. Eichel wanted to GET PAID & he decided to take the Sabres 8yr $80mil contract offer. Eichel put himself into this situation & now he needs to allow the process to work itself out.
This agent change will probably end up helping Eichel since he is well connected & some phone calls from him should help with a few of these rumored trades. There has been some reports that some teams are ok with Eichel having the ADR done (they are trying to get him for pennies on the dollar) & if that is the case this agent can be a positive thing in those conversations.
I still would like to have Eichel on the Blues. A trade that involves Tarasenko. Even if Eichel has to sit out a few months.
What else are ya offering besides Tarasenko?
Kind of a Lose-Lose.
And for the fans too, so Lose-Lose-Really Lose
ight imma head out
“I’ve had too easy a life.” – Pat Brisson
My guess here is that Eichel wants an agent with better relationships with NHL GM’s to try and get the trade process moving more quickly. Beyond that, who knows.