Trying to make sense of all the Jack Eichel rumors can get a bit messy, because everything about Eichel’s situation in Buffalo is messy. But let’s give it a shot.
Let’s start with this: It’s looking more and more likely that the North Chelmsford native will in fact be traded this offseason. Both Eichel and the Sabres are reportedly ready to move on from each other, with their ongoing disagreement over how to treat the herniated disk in his neck seemingly being the final straw.
On Wednesday, The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported that talks between the Sabres and teams interested in Eichel are "getting more intense and serious." LeBrun adds that it's possible a trade could get done before the Stanley Cup playoffs are even over, and that the Sabres would be expecting to get a first-round pick in this year's draft (set for July 23) as part of the package.
OK, so are the Bruins one of those interested teams? They need to find their No. 1 center of the future at some point with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci both in their mid-30s, and Krejci an unrestricted free agent this offseason. The 24-year-old Eichel would fit the bill.
He's from the area and he's friends with both Matt Grzelcyk (from their time together at Boston University) and Taylor Hall (from their brief time together in Buffalo).
But in listing the teams he thinks would "make sense" for an Eichel trade, LeBrun did not list the Bruins. The teams he does list: the Kings, Wild, Ducks, Blue Jackets, Flyers and Rangers.
However, there are conflicting reports on at least a couple of those teams. A recent report out of Los Angeles says Eichel isn't on the Kings' shopping list because of the expected cost and uncertainty around his injury. LeBrun's colleague Rick Carpiniello reports the Rangers are "not likely, or much less likely now" to go all-in on Eichel.
There are a couple reasons the Bruins probably aren't popping up in as many Eichel rumors as you might expect. The first is that they just don't have the assets -- elite prospects or high draft picks -- that some of those other teams do. The Sabres would also be reluctant to trade Eichel to a division rival if they have other options.
Fluto Shinzawa reported back in March that the Sabres would likely ask for either David Pastrnak or Charlie McAvoy in return. That should have been an immediate no from the Bruins then, and should remain an immediate no now.
Even if the price for Eichel has come down from that, and it seems like it probably has at least a little given the continuing uncertainty around his injury, it still seems likely the Sabres will get at least one high first-round pick, elite prospect, or good, young NHL player -- all things the Bruins don't really have in stock.
Jeremy Swayman could be next on the list of pieces the Sabres would ask for, but that would leave the Bruins looking for another goalie of both the present and future.
The Bruins' most likely course of action at the center position would seem to be re-signing David Krejci on a short-term deal with a much lower cap hit than the $7.25 million he was at this year and, as Cam Neely put it on Tuesday, "taking one more shot at it here."
What if that changes though? What if Krejci decides he doesn't want to keep playing in the NHL and that the time is now for him to move his family to his native Czech Republic and finish his career there, something he has said publicly he wants to do at some point?
Would that prompt the Bruins to jump into the deep end of the Eichel sweepstakes? Based on LeBrun's most recent report, the Sabres may be trying to make their move sooner rather than later.
The Bruins would need to know Krejci's answer soon and would need to decide quickly if Eichel is the building block for the future that they're looking for.
Eichel will cost a lot in terms of assets and will cost $10 million a year through the 2025-26 season. It would be a franchise-altering move, and one that would require some certainty on his neck injury before making.
It doesn't seem like the Bruins are among the serious suitors for Eichel at this very moment. But things can change quickly, and the Bruins jumping in over the next couple weeks shouldn't be completely ruled out just yet.
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