As the Jack Eichel saga appears to potentially be nearing a conclusion, there’s now constant speculation about potential destinations and a potential return. While the Vegas Golden Knights have long been named as a potential suitor for Eichel, a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen says that the Knights view top prospect Peyton Krebs as untouchable in any Eichel deal. While the Golden Knights do still have some desirable young pieces available in a trade like defenseman Nicolas Hague, none have the potential upside of Krebs. If Vegas is to get an Eichel trade completed, they’ll likely have to give up a massive amount of draft capital in place of Krebs.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- Toronto Maple Leafs top prospect Nick Robertson suffered a lower-body injury in tonight’s match with the Toronto Marlies against the Manitoba Moose, per Marlies head coach Greg Moore. Moore notes the extent of the injury is unknown and that Robertson will be assessed tomorrow. It’s a tough blow to the Leafs organization, which is already dealing with significant injuries in all areas. It’s especially concerning considering Robertson missed the majority of last season due to a knee injury. Toronto undoubtedly hopes it’s not a major injury.
- Another Marlies forward is in some injury trouble as Moore also notes that Josh Ho-Sang was held out with a hip issue, but mostly as a precaution. Calling it a ’maintenance day,’ it’s a smart choice on the Marlies to not risk any further injury. Ho-Sang will be one of the team’s most important contributors considering his NHL experience, and a notable injury setback could negatively affect his chances of getting an NHL contract with the Maple Leafs later this season.
How is Krebs “untouchable” in an Eichel deal? He doesn’t have anywhere near the ceiling Eichel does, and it implies they wouldn’t even do a one for one (if they had the cap space). That’s just silly.
The Knights are locked into several long-term deals. To even accommodate Eichel, they’ll have to move a lot of salary (Smith, Tuch?).
You need high upside, low salary players to fill in the gaps.
They’ve flipped most of their early picks to build their core, but now the cupboard is thin.
Krebs is one of the few homegrown forwards they have and the only one potentially ready to play at that level today.
Any Eichel talk is moot at the moment. With Stone and Pacioretty out, you can’t subtract multiple, healthy core players for a single, injured player. You’d be punting on the season after only 2 games.
Maybe we can have this conversation in a month.
I’ve got sick of following this saga so can someone answer this? If a team were to trade for Eichel and allow him to get his surgery, when can they realistically expect to get him in the lineup? That seems like a pretty big factor on what should have to be included in any potential deal.
Vegas would probably be looking at kucheroving Eichel, getting through the season without him then activating Eichel for the playoffs. This would allow the team to deal with the cap repercussions of Eichel’s contract starting next year while getting him into the playoffs this year.
I suspect that Krebs is untouchable only until Sabres take a few other pieces out of their ask for Eichel.
But what would they do next year? Trade Stone? Martinez and Marchessault? Lol. Eichel has a cap hit of 10 mil for the next 5 yrs
Slimmycito, I expect they’d think like a lot of teams have been thinking — kick the can down the road and worry about it next year. How many teams are handing out $6+ mil contracts like Cracker Jack prizes, and not really caring how much it’ll bite them in their collective asses in the future?
Not really should have an impact on return as they have him for 4 more years after this year. If the acquiring team approves the surgery he wants and he gets it done then value is based on what your getting. An elite franchise center that’s still very young. Everyone always wants a discount on the “expensive” things but in the end never get it and Kevyn Adams knows this and isn’t budging on price. Good for him imo. He already knew what the Sabres were going to be this year so whatever they get now is for future. No need to bargain that away.
Vegas is only cap compliant because Alex Tuch is on LTIR. How on earth are they going to add a $10 million cap hit? Even if they send Reilly Smith as part of the deal to acquire Eichel, they are still $5 million in cap space short of just matching Eichel’s cap hit. That doesn’t include the nearly $3 million that they are over the cap when Tuch is healthy.
Easy. They’d put him on LTIR. He’ll be out for a while after whatever surgery he ends up having, so that would buy them time to clear some cap space.
Eichel’s cap hit is 10 mil for the next 5 years, Vegas has 0 cap space. They’d have to trade multiple key players to stay under the cap next year.
How is Jack Eichel elite? someone please tell me. Because he was drafted next to McDavid?
His scoring rates over the past 3-5 years place him in the 30s, that is not elite to me. Sure he played on some meh teams but so has Kane, Barkov, Guadreau, O’Reilly… Others have carried their teams to playoff performances, or to Championships.
Eichel has seen how many playoff games? or league awards? or anything to wow masses of fans?
he is a very good player when healthy, not elite. he is not currently healthy. may never be 100% healthy again. He has never been elite. may never be very good. Why is he as valuable as McDavid, Matthews, MacKinnon, Barkov, ect? Please someone tell me.
He is in a 2nd tier of talent at best, and in the bottom of that tier. Buffalo can sit on their hands and let his value depreciate as far as I am concerned.
I think I’ve been clear that I’m not a fan of Eichel…the person (maybe he’ll grow up one day, most do, we’ll see).
But, the player? His talent?
Eichel is the closest thing (in terms of big right shot centers) to Mario I have seen (still light years away but…) talent wise. More talented than Sundin, even.
Point, Stamkos, Barzal, MacKinnon.
There is 4 right shot Centers I take right now off the top of my head before Eichel. Just RIGHT shot.
And NONE of those guys are close to Mario. including Eichel.
Just very good active right shot C.
On top of that list I can add guys I see as good as Eichel: Seguin, Bergeron, Zibanojad…
That’s just right shot 1C. Doesn’t include better left shot 1C like Mattews, McDavid, Draisaitl, ect.
He isn’t elite for his position, or for selective of his position, or for forwards. there are at least 3 better rs C, C, and FW.
“…to Mario I have seen (still light years away but…)…”
“And NONE of those guys are close to Mario. including Eichel.”
Agreed, that’s why I already said that.
I’d take all of those guys over Eichel, too. But, none of them are more talented than him. They just care more.
All those guys are equally talented and care as much as him right now.
None of them carry the risk Eichel does right now.
Seguin might carry close to the same risk. some of. No one carries a potential broken neck risk except one.
The teams Eichel has played on weren’t meh, they were downright awful. And yeah, I understand that a team has to be bad to get the #2 overall draft pick, but I feel like he would’ve developed into an elite NHLer in a different organization. There’s no denying his talent, but years of playing on bad teams with questionable (at best) coaching has instilled bad habits in his game that could affect him for the rest of his career.
Taylor Hall says hi. He played with McDavid and Eichel. Ran away from Buffalo as quick as he could. Cried about being traded Edmonton. And if you think some of the teams in Edmonton were any more than meh, with better coaching than Ralph Krueger….
just look at the history.
The team is still run by some of the owners favorite former plays. the others died in Buffalo.
@joshbelltolled I like your comments most of the time but I disagree here. A serious injury and getting screwed around by your incompetent FO does not = not caring.
I’ve been calling Eichel a “tin man” long before his neck injury*.
Two things can be true at the same time. Eichel is heartless and the Sabres are incompetent.
*Note…while I stand by “tin man” it’s worth noting that I still think he can mature and “get it” and become a great player…otherwise I’d have moved him into the DOG category with Duchene and Brassard.
And it still won’t make any more or less sense
Right there with you, Wreckage. Eichel is a star, a #1 center and a fine player.
And that’s as far as it goes. Comparing him to Hall of Famers like Lemieux or Sundin (or even future Hall of Famers like Bergeron or McDavid) is laughable. He’s played five full seasons now. In only two of them has he so much as led his team by a substantial margin in scoring. In only one season has he had ANY votes for any trophies (other than finishing 4th for the Calder) or received ANY All-Star votes. Only once has he finished in the Top 20 of league scoring. Barring a late career epiphany a la-Brad Marchand, Eichel is in NO danger of making the HHOF.
If he was perfectly healthy, the issue I’d have as a GM wouldn’t be how I could fit Eichel’s contract inside my team’s cap. The issue I’d have is that he’s overpaid in the first place.
Here is the way I see it. He is the 11th highest contract in the NHL. If the NHL held a draft tomorrow to redistribute players (if they were all healthy) would Eichel be taken even in the top 30? I know there are at least 30 guys I would take before him without the neck thing. Now the Sabres want a haul like he is a top 5 player in the league and for someone to take on the entirety of his contract too?
He isn’t worth his contract.
He isn’t worth the health risk.
He isn’t worth the reported ask from Buffalo either.
That’s 3 flags I want nothing to deal with.
Hell, never mind about there being thirty players one would take before Eichel. Are there thirty FORWARDS you’d take before Eichel? (Probably not that many, no.)
If we were only talking CENTERS, and you left health and contracts out of it … well. You’ve got McDavid, Draisaitl, Matthews, MacKinnon, Barkov, Guentzel, O’Reilly, Zibanejad, Tavares, Aho, Point: I sure wouldn’t take a healthy Eichel over any of them. I might take him over Bergeron, Kopitar, Pavelski or Crosby, but only on age: each of them are better players than Eichel today, and if I wanted to win a Cup NOW I’d want one in preference, all proven winners. Eichel is on a par with Scheifele, Backstrom, Strome and Barzal, no objection one way or another.
Wow. Fifteen CENTERS I’d rather take, if I wanted to win now. Maybe there are thirty better forwards.
I probably take Bergeron, Kopitar, Backstrom, and Crosby for the next 3 years over him.
I still take Scheifele, Hertl, and Barzal over him.
So I am at at least 18 C’s without considering Eichel yet. Then there are the other forwards defensemen, and goalies I would take before him.
There is definately 30 FW and likely 50 players I take before Eichel. Maybe a coach or 2 and possibly a mascot.
Eichel is very good. Not elite.
Now let’s consider wingers…
Pastrnak, Marchand, Panarin, P. Kane, Marner, Huberdeau, Stamkos, M. Tkachuk, Rantanen, Landeskog, Stone.
Other FW on par…
Nugent-Hopkins, Gaudreau, Petterson, Tavares, Wheeler, Nylander, Kaprisov, Caulfield, Larkin, Ovechkin, E. Kane, Couturier, Seguin, Svechnikov, Giroux…
And I haven’t started on dmen and G that should be seen as valuable or more. At least in my opinion. That’s 40+ players already as valuable if not more. Just from forwards.With many more debatable.
Defense: Makar, McAvoy, Toews, Theodore, Nurse, Letang, Hedman, Hamilton …
Goal: Vasilevsky, Hellebucyk, Varlamov, Campbell, Saros, Grubauer, Rask …
If draft Capital is part of a Vegas & Sabres trade. The Sabres should be looking at spreading out the draft picks every other year starting in 2023. Also the 1sts should not have any draft lottery protections on them.
Except for the quality of the draft. This year’s seems to be not only top heavy, but deep. Next year’s is top heavy but soft in depth. a 10th overall this year could potentially be a 2nd round next year… A bit of a difference. Especially with the Sabres or Coyotes history when drafting.