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Jack Eichel

Snapshots: Krebs, Robertson, Ho-Sang

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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.

Snapshots: Eichel, Andersson, Colliton

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Though there’s still no real news on Jack Eichel and his continued standoff with the Buffalo Sabres, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet did give a bit of an update on the situation last night. Part of that update is that the Sabres do not want to retain salary on Eichel’s massive contract, which certainly isn’t unexpected but does make trade more difficult.

In fact, Friedman notes that the Colorado Avalanche called Buffalo about Eichel, but when the Sabres said they wouldn’t retain salary the conversation ended immediately. That’s likely not the only contender in that situation, as Eichel’s $10MM contract is difficult to fit in for anyone pushing the salary cap upper limit. Buffalo is willing to take contracts back, but it appears as though they don’t want to be tied to Eichel at all moving forward.

  • Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson has escaped without a suspension after his incident with Edmonton Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto last night. Andersson has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for roughing. The two got into it and it appeared to many as though Andersson delivered a headbutt to Yamamoto’s face, but the league determined that the actual play did not rise to a level of suspension.
  • After three games and three losses, the Chicago Blackhawks find themselves in trouble to start the season and already there have been calls to change the coaching staff. Mark Lazerus of The Athletic examines the bad start and notes that head coach Jeremy Colliton’s seat is getting hot, while Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports writes about how the “urgency is building” despite it being so early in the season. The Blackhawks have allowed 13 goals in their first three games, tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the most in the NHL so far.

Latest On Jack Eichel

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It appeared as though there was some momentum toward a Jack Eichel trade a week ago, but things have gone quiet once again on one of the biggest stories in the NHL. With the season underway there is no lack of headlines and narratives to take the attention of hockey fans across the league, but every one of them is still keeping one eye on the Buffalo Sabres and their malcontent star. Today, Emily Kaplan on ESPN’s The Point explained the current situation with regards to Eichel:

Where we stand now is there are five teams still in on Jack Eichel, and those are teams who believe they can fit his they can fit his $10MM salary into their cap situation. Maybe that means moving some contracts or whatever. All of those teams though have agreed Jack Eichel will get the disk replacement surgery that he wants.

If there is a trade in the near future, Eichel still faces a major neck surgery that will keep him out of the NHL for several months. That makes it extremely difficult for any contender to acquire the Sabres former captain, though easier to swallow if it’s soon enough that he could potentially return for the end of the season. The one thing to consider when it comes to cap situations is that Eichel’s contract will be able to be moved to long-term injured reserve, though if he’s back before the playoffs the team would need to have the applicable room to activate him.

There’s also the factor of Buffalo’s cap, which will need money coming back the other way to stay above the lower limit. Sending money the other way seems likely for any team acquiring a long-term $10MM cap hit, though it still makes things more complicated.

Interestingly in these cases, a quiet period often shows up as the talks get more serious and the teams involved don’t want any leaking information to spoil the negotiation. It’s not clear if that’s the case with Eichel, but with five teams still interested and willing to greenlight his preferred surgery, it seems like a resolution of some sort is still possible in the near future.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Ducks, Flames Leading Candidates To Acquire Jack Eichel

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Jack Eichel has been on the trade block for what seems like forever and has not been on the ice for the Buffalo Sabres this preseason as he continues to await neck surgery. Yet, his market is heating back up. As TSN’s Darren Dreger wrote earlier this week, the Sabres have been pushed by Eichel’s new agent, Pat Brisson, to share medical files with interested parties. The result has been more clarity as to Eichel’s serious suitors, which could finally lead to a trade.

Eichel’s desired surgical cure, which has been at the center of his ongoing feud with the Sabres, is a disc replacement surgery that has never been attempted on an NHL player. By sharing the specifics of Eichel’s injury, teams can gain more insight into the nature of Eichel’s condition and whether they would agree to his preferred route rather than the typical fusion procedure. As Pierre LeBrun reports for The Athletic, this has helped Kevyn Adams and the Sabres strengthen their trade pitch, as some of the unknowns of an Eichel deal have been cleared up. While LeBrun believes that there will still be a conditional aspect to any deal, Buffalo now finally has a chance to finally close a deal and closer to full value.

Among the teams that LeBrun feels have backed off of the Eichel pursuit are the Minnesota Wild and Philadelphia, and even the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings who seemed like top contenders at one point. However, LeBrun notes that the Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames have done their due diligence on Eichel’s condition and the ADR surgery and remain interested in the star center.

Though the cost for Eichel remains a mystery, especially with the suspected conditional component, there will still be a considerable price to pay. Anaheim offers a number of young roster forwards, as well as numerous talented prospects. Calgary offers more current star talent, some of whom would have to move for cap purposes, as well as some top prospects. Both teams would be able to make a strong pitch for Eichel and have good reason for doing so. The Flames may be one major piece away from jumping into Stanley Cup contention, while the Ducks have a budding young core and know that Eichel has expressed some desire to play on the west coast.

While LeBrun stops short of saying a trade is imminent, this is first time that concrete conversations have been had with a media source confirming that Eichel talks are occurring. Eichel needed surgery “like yesterday” per LeBrun and both he and the Sabres desperately need to move on, so for the good of all involved, including NHL fans, hopefully this situation will be resolved before too long.

Latest On Jack Eichel

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The Jack Eichel saga has been the unfortunate headline all summer. Nothing has happened other than public frustration coming out of both the star player and the Buffalo Sabres, as they look for a solution to their failing marriage. Eichel disagrees with the Buffalo medical staff for his next treatment option, and an entire offseason was wasted without him getting any closer to getting back on the ice.

That could be changing though, as Darren Dreger of TSN tweets this morning that “both sides are hopeful” they can reach an agreement soon to trade Eichel to an interested team. Dreger notes that there has been additional access given to Eichel’s medical file, one of the biggest hurdles in any negotiation this summer. Teams that have interest simply can’t trade for a player of Eichel’s stature (and cost) without knowing exactly what his medicals say and making a decision on how they will move forward.

Remember, a trade doesn’t guarantee that Eichel gets to have the surgery he wants. His new team would then have the final decision just like Buffalo, though it follows logically that no one would spend the assets to acquire him without first knowing they can reach an agreement one way or the other. A $10MM cap hit is a tricky trade to pull off when the player is healthy, even tougher when he’s embroiled in a complicated medical battle.

One thing to note with any potential trade is that the Sabres must take back some salary of their own. The team would be under the salary cap floor without Eichel’s $10MM hit, meaning it can’t just be prospects and picks coming back. That would likely be the case anyway given there aren’t many teams who can slide in a cap hit as high as Eichel’s, but it is another complication to work through for the Sabres. Hopefully, this latest update will actually result in a trade of some sort, allowing both the player and the franchise to move forward.

Snapshots: Olympics, Eichel, Cirelli, Knyzhov

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While the Olympics are still a few months away, each participating country will have to submit their long list of eligible players on October 15th, reports Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link).  That list could contain 50 or more players per country with some having more than others.  The full squads will be announced at some point in January with the exact date to be determined.  At this point, the NHL and NHLPA are discussing whether to do it all in one day or spread it out to add some more buzz.  There will be an extended break in the schedule this season to accommodate both the All-Star Game and the Olympics with most teams only having a small handful of games in February as a result.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • While it will ultimately cost him some money in the end, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News argues that Sabres center Jack Eichel should ultimately go ahead with the surgery he prefers. He would be suspended, would have to pay for it out of pocket, and wouldn’t be paid while suspended but the risk is lessened since Buffalo almost certainly wouldn’t terminate his contract with how high the asking price in a trade remains.  The artificial disc replacement carries a quicker recovery time and as soon as he’s able to show that he’s healthy, it might help the trade process along which is what he ultimately wants.
  • Lightning center Anthony Cirelli left Thursday’s exhibition game early due to a lower-body injury and will be out at least one week, relays Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 24-year-old is coming off a quiet year offensively that saw him put up 22 points in 50 games last season.
  • The Sharks are hoping that defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov will be able to start skating next week but his availability for the start of the season is in question, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). The 23-year-old had sports hernia surgery over the summer after playing through it last season.  Knyzhov still managed to play in all 56 games in 2020-21, picking up 10 points while averaging 16:45 per contest.

Atlantic Notes: Eichel, Ennis, Barkov

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For the majority of the prolonged Jack Eichel trade negotiations, the Sabres hadn’t been sharing medical information with other teams.  However, as TSN’s Darren Dreger noted in the latest TSN Insider Trading segment, that has now changed and interested teams are now receiving Eichel’s medical information as it’s collected.  It’s a small step as the stalemate continues with Eichel’s camp wanting artificial disc replacement surgery with Buffalo insisting on fusion surgery and the Sabres have the final say on the matter.  It’s unknown if the exchanging of medical info will make other teams suddenly increase their offers for the disgruntled center but at least they’ll have updated information to work off of.

More from the Atlantic:

  • While things can change, the current expectation is that veteran Tyler Ennis will be able to land a contract and a roster spot off of his PTO with the Senators, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The 31-year-old had a tough year last season with Edmonton where he had just nine points in 30 games but in 2019-20, Ennis spent most of the year with Ottawa and head coach D.J. Smith where he collected 33 points in 61 contests.  At this point, a contract would be at or close to the league minimum and Ennis would give the Sens another capable veteran after just adding Zach Sanford over the weekend.
  • The Panthers are engaged in extension talks with captain Aleksander Barkov, report David Dwork of WPLG and David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). The 26-year-old is entering the final year of what has been a very team-friendly deal that carries an AAV of $5.9MM and he will be eyeing a substantial raise – potentially past the $10MM mark.  Both Dwork and Pagnotta peg the discussions as progressing very slowly so it appears there’s still a lot of work to be done before Florida can get their franchise forward to put pen to paper on a new contract.

Latest On Jack Eichel

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The Jack Eichel situation continues to drag on with no resolution one way or the other. The injured forward failed his physical last week and was stripped of the Buffalo Sabres captaincy, but he’s still not moving forward on either surgery that would potentially get him playing again at some point this season. There has been almost no information coming out of the Sabres camp on what they intend to do with Eichel (other than move him to injured reserve, where he is now listed), but Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet believes enough is enough. On his latest 31 Thoughts podcast, Friedman suggests it is time for the league to step in:

I think the NHL has to step in, I do. I understand that the NHL wants to protect the rules of the CBA, I get that. But at the end of the day I don’t think that it is a good look for your league when you have a star player like this and a team that can’t agree on this. This player, who is a star player who can drive a franchise, is in some way held back from playing because they can’t agree on a surgery. 

I think this is one thing that the NHL can do. If Jack Eichel agrees–and I think Jack Eichel would agree–everyone should be able to see his medicals. St. Louis and Tarasenko, anyone could have seen the medicals. If anyone has seen [Eichel’s] medicals aside from the Sabres, I don’t know it.

Friedman, like other reporters who have been following this story, can’t confidently confirm that no other team has seen any of Eichel’s medicals, but the shroud surrounding them is still making this an extremely difficult situation to resolve. It’s hard to trade a player making $10MM even when healthy, but the lack of information certainly makes this one seem impossible. Co-host Jeff Marek suggests that with opening day coming in short order, we could already be approaching a lost season for Eichel given the impasse the two sides have reached.

One other thing that Friedman mentions is the possibility of a tolled contract, meaning that this year wouldn’t count if Eichel sits out the year under a team suspension. It would mean his contract would be extended through the 2026-27 season, though that outcome does not seem likely at this point.

A few days ago, Nick Kypreos of Line Movement tweeted that Eichel had made it clear he would go anywhere, though he doesn’t have control over that anyway. His no-movement clause does not come into play until the fifth year of his contract. Kypreos added that at least one of the interested teams would want the Sabres to add conditions to any draft picks involved, based on his games played and scoring totals after surgery.

The Sabres start the regular season on October 14, and it is not at all clear whether this situation will be resolved by then.

Jack Eichel Fails Physical, Stripped Of Captaincy

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As expected, the Buffalo Sabres have announced that Jack Eichel did not pass his physical yesterday and will not be with the team in training camp as he continues to deal with a neck injury. Less expected was what Sabres GM Kevyn Adams said next:

I spoke to Jack two days ago, I spoke to the team yesterday and addressed this, Jack Eichel is no longer the captain of the Buffalo Sabres. From our perspective, the captain is your heartbeat of your team, and we are in a situation where we felt we needed to make that decision.

Eichel was named Sabres captain in October 2018 after a strong sophomore season. At the time, he called it “humbling” a “huge honor” and noted how it showed “how invested [he was] in this city and excited for the future.” Three years later and Eichel isn’t expected to play for the Sabres again.

Adams confirmed that Eichel is not willing to move forward with what the Sabres medical team is suggesting and the two sides will continue to work toward a solution. That solution, it seems, is one of the more difficult trades he’ll ever have to pull off. Eichel is a star player with a huge contract that is set on having a neck surgery that has never been done on an NHL player. The young forward and his team are reportedly pursuing a disk replacement procedure, while the team wants to do a fusion surgery that has been performed on many other NHL players.

At the very least, the Sabres players now have some clarity. Eichel is no longer their captain and won’t be on the ice to help them during training camp.

East Notes: Eichel, Chara, Hallander

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It was a busy news day in the Eastern Conference. It was highlighted by the New York Islanders signing Zdeno Chara and the Ottawa Senators signing Logan Brown, both to one-year deals. But those weren’t the only items of note from around the East today as things begin to heat up prior to training camps. The Associated Press’s John Wawrow reports that Jack Eichel will indeed report to the Buffalo Sabres for his physical next week. Considering the importance that Eichel’s health status plays in any potential trade from Buffalo, the results of this appointment will likely be of especially high interest to Buffalo and teams interested in acquiring the star center. It could provide some additional clarity about paths forward for Eichel, as well as a potential return date from his neck injury.

Elsewhere from around the East:

  • Assuming Chara actually suits up for game action with the Islanders this year, he’ll be setting an NHL record in the process. According to Sportradar, Chara will have gone the longest amount of time between games with a singular franchise of anyone in the league. His last game with the Islanders was in April of 2001, making it roughly 20 years and six months since he last suited up for the Isles. It smashes the previous record held by Brendan Shanahan, who went 17 years and nine months between games with the New Jersey Devils.
  • After being dealt from and back to the Pittsburgh Penguins organization via trades with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Filip Hallander remains committed to making an NHL career for himself with the team. Participating in this year’s development camp with the team, he notes to Penguins writer James Leo that he’s “here to take a spot.” It’s not something that’s entirely out of the realm of possibility. Neither Sidney Crosby nor Evgeni Malkin will be ready for the start of the season, stretching the team’s center depth extremely thin. The 21-year-old had 24 points in 51 games last year with Luleå in the Swedish Hockey League, and could at least earn a few games out of camp in a bottom-six role while the team heals up.

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