Let me just get this out of the way now - I will not be happy if or, more likely, when the Buffalo Sabres trade captain Jack Eichel.
All the signs point to a deal being made by general manager Kevyn Adams by the first day of the 2021 NHL Draft, which is three weeks from this Friday on July 23. Call me crazy, but I’m not in favor of trading away the best player on the team when he is only 24-years-old and is locked in for another five years on his contract.
Former Sabres general manager Darcy Regier used to talk about how tough it is to get a top center in the NHL, and how those players just don’t become available. The Sabres are about to make one of those valuable commodities available after six seasons and 355 points (139+216) in 375 games.
I will hold out hope that whatever Adams gets in return will somehow make the Sabres better in the long-term, because it immediately opens up a huge hole. I’d also have to have faith that the Sabres organization, that has been one of the worst-run NHL franchises over the last 10 years, will suddenly make mostly correct decisions.
According to one report, the Sabres are looking for all futures in any Eichel trade, so I look forward to waiting two or three more years before considering the possibility of them ending, what would then be, the longest playoff drought in league history.
One of the things that puzzles me is the number of fans that tweet at me and essentially say "good riddance," as far as Eichel is concerned. Some will say they’ve never liked his attitude, and others will say he isn’t a good enough leader. Then there’s the group that feels he is the main reason why the Sabres have been bad (I mean continued to be bad) since the day he arrived.
Be careful what you wish for.
Eichel isn’t to blame for general managers who made the wrong roster moves or for hiring coaches that couldn’t coach. I guess the easy thing to do when a team consistently loses is blame the best players for not doing enough, but it seems like flawed logic to me.
When Adams finally pulls the trigger on a deal, I sure hope he reels in a top young center. Putting Sam Reinhart at center in the event of an Eichel trade would help ease the blow, but I don’t think Reinhart is long for the Sabres' world either.
In that case, the depth chart down the middle would feature Dylan Cozens and Casey Mittelstadt on the top-two lines. That is a pretty big ask for a second-year player and a player who had a few good weeks after the coaching change from Ralph Krueger to Don Granato.
By the way, an Eichel trade would not mean the tank failed. The tank did what it was supposed to do. The tank was about selling off pieces for future assets. It was about stockpiling capital in the form of draft picks and, specific to Eichel, insuring the Sabres get a cornerstone center.
There is no guarantee that a tank brings winning and championships. That is determined by what teams do with all of the draft picks and cap space they create.
Clearly the Sabres have had more misses than hits over the last six years or should I say they’ve fanned on more one timers than they put in the back of the net.