The Jack Eichel era of Buffalo Sabres hockey is now officially over.
The Sabres have traded Eichel, along with a third round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for forwards Peyton Krebs, Alex Tuch, a top-10 protected first round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and a second round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
It was reported early Thursday morning that the Sabres and Golden Knights worked into the overnight hours to finalize a deal. The news of the trade was first reported by Andrew Peters.
According to ESPN NHL writer Greg Wyshynski, if the 2022 first round pick acquired as part of the deal is a top-10 pick in the draft, Buffalo will then receive Vegas' own first round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and second round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. In addition, Buffalo's third round pick to the Golden Knights would then also be transferred to the 2024 NHL Draft.
The Sabres trade Eichel to the Golden Knights after months of tension between the 25-year-old and the organization.
Back in March, Eichel suffered a herniated disk in a game against the New York Islanders that eventually led to him missing the remainder of the 2020-21 season. In 21 games played with the Sabres last year, Eichel scored two goals and registered 16 assists for 18 points.
At the conclusion of the season, Eichel addressed the media during his end-of-season conference call and openly discussed his frustrations with the Sabres regarding his recovery process. Eichel said there was a "disconnect" between himself and the organization over the handling of the herniated disk in his neck.
From the outset, the hope from the Sabres' standpoint was that Eichel would not require surgery to repair the damage to his neck with some rest time. However, after a reported setback in his recovery, it became clear that Eichel would require surgery.
That's where the "disconnect" started to escalate and eventually explode.
Eichel has been a proponent of an artificial disk replacement (ADR) surgery as part of his recovery from the herniated disk in his neck. However, the Sabres were recommending Eichel to undergo an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) procedure. Part of the reasoning behind the Sabres' decision was an ADR procedure has never been performed on a player at the National Hockey League level.
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From there, Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams went to the phones and started taking phone calls from teams around the league inquiring about Eichel's services.
At the start of trade discussions, it was reported the Sabres were looking for the equivalent of four first round assets in return for Eichel. Adams dug in with the mindset that the team has to get value in return for a player of Eichel's caliber to set the Sabres up for long-term success in the NHL. That steered many teams away from making a deal over the summer months, especially with the uncertainties of the medical procedure Eichel wanted added into the mix.
As time went on, the Sabres remained staunch on getting the right value in any trade with another team interested in acquiring the franchise centerman. Teams like the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers were all reported to be seriously in the mix, but no team was willing to give up the farm for a player with a ton of talent but uncertainties surrounding his long-term future in the league.
The Golden Knights have been talked about as a potential suitor for an Eichel deal throughout the entire process, perhaps not as much or as wildly popular as other teams, though. Vegas remained in the mix as time went on, and finally, they were able to strike a deal that brings the former second overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft to the "Sin City".
More importantly, for Eichel, this trade will now allow him to get the disk replacement surgery, as the Golden Knights have reportedly said they are OK with Eichel going under the knife with his preferred procedure in mind. This will allow for Eichel to potentially return to the Vegas lineup as soon as late February after the break for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.
Eichel ends his six-year stint with the Sabres by scoring 139 goals and registering 216 assists for 355 points in 375 games. He ends his time in the blue and gold finishing 18th in franchise scoring, 19th in goals scored, and 23rd in assists.
Coming back to Buffalo includes a pair of players that have the potential to make an immediate impact with the Sabres at the NHL level.
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