Man, I feel so bad for Eichel with how all of this injury stuff is happening. It really seems like he knows exactly what he wants to do, but the team won’t let him. This might cripple the relationship between the two sides. He declined to comment on whether he asked for a trade or not, and spoke about how his only goal is to be available to play hockey next year regardless of where that is. Might be seeing the relationship crumble....


What do you all think about how this is going to play out? I think any Eichel trade will see BUF losing the deal, just impossible to get full value back for a guy like that. But with the relationship looking like it’s deteriorating, it’s a situation that needs to be handled ASAP.

I think if he's moved, it'll be towards training camp. Teams will get a general feel for their roster, see what's working, and what isn't. I think its a 80-20 that he's moved.

I totally agree, it’ll be after FA starts for sure. I’d say 80-20 is fair.

Seems like this whole injury situation is really just ruining the relationship with the team.

There is no winning a situation when you’re giving up the best player involved in the trade. No matter how this plays out, if Eichel is traded buffalo loses. Ironically when they trade him for futures they will have no future. No one want to sign in Buffalo, and no one will want to stay there. Not to mention no fans will be buying tickets to watch the team continue to lose. Realistically or not the Sabres organization needs to do whatever they can to convince Jack Eichel he does not want to leave. If he forces his way out the organization crumbles.

100000% agree. You lose that trade every time.

I also agree that this situation is bigger than just losing Eichel. This could be a serious problem on an organization level. Like you said, why would fans go watch games if there’s no Eichel? Buffalo will be even worse than they are now, and they’re really not looking like they’re going to get any better anytime soon. Could cripple the entire organization if they lose him.

I'm with you that there's no way Buffalo wins the trade. This is an extremely talented player that a) wants out, and b) is coming off of a neck injury that the team didn't let him get surgery on. Two things that drop the value of any player, and both of them are going to make it difficult for Buffalo to come out of this not looking like morons.

I'm sure Eichel regretted signing that 10m X 8 year contract the moment he signed it. Gee, he can't be blamed for wanting life time financial security. But he knew the Sabres were a poor organization and he was going to be unhappy playing for the Sabres short term and long term. If he gone the Trouba route, he would have been a UFA in 22/23

???? The Sabres are losing with Eichel (not his fault), so they really can't be worse without him. Since so many teams are cap strapped, players will sign with the Sabres, especially if the Sabres have cap space without Eichel. That's what the Sabres have to do, trade Eichel for futures and with new found cap space sign good value players. The Sabres have been horrid in their UFA signings, but that's the only way the Sabres have a shot of being better. Draft and develop and have good value veterans on the team.

Look at how much they had to overpay Cody Eakin who wasn’t even good where he had been just to get him as a fourth line center. Continually overpaying marginal talent isn’t going to make the team any better. The only way they ever become a playoff team again is keeping the better players they already have, and that’s not going very well.

The team has missed the playoffs for 10 straight years and it’s not looking like that drought is going to end anytime soon when their best players don’t want to be there. Since there’s no way they win an Eichel trade they will be worse off without him. Once Jack Eichel is gone do you think that Sam Reinhart would want to stay? Is Rasmus Dahlin going to want to stay around a franchise that is not going anywhere? No one could expect Dylan Cozens and Casey Mittelstadt to carry this team.

Remember since it’s been so long since they were worth anything as a team, the Fanbase has been waiting for them to get better. An Eichel trade signifies yet another rebuild that nobody wants. Likely a guarantee of another five years of mediocrity and no playoffs. Who is going to buy tickets to watch that?

I think hes moved right after the seattle draft. Rangers and Kings apparently have been aggressively inquiring on him and trying to pursue a trade since 2019. Both teams make a tonne of sense as they got the assets to go in with Kings having a slight advantage in terms of prospects. Still though with him joining either of these teams he would make them potential contenders.

rn from a needs base and from what I have heard via Friedman, Cerevalli, etc the teams with the most need or shot rn

1. Kings
2. Rangers
3. Flyers
4. Columbus (need that genuine 1c and could move out Laine and Domi who are not working out)
5. Calgary (team seems to need a spark)

and a dark horse

Boston (they got the space to do some damage). Kreji + Hall will be off the books along with Halak and Rask (probs will return but on cheaper deal) and Debrusk will probs be going the other way.

Trading Eichel is not the top priority for the Sabres into the offseason. (The Sabres' first priority is hiring a head coach.)

Eichel has played hurt/injured since Ralph Krueger coached the team. Krueger playing Eichel when he wanted to heal is a mistake, and could have been another reason contributing to Krueger's firing. Whatever medical treatment Eichel needs to start 2021-2022 strong will occur over the offseason.

The trade proposals involving Eichel being moved I have read in Armchair-GM are garbage, imaginative, and unrealistic.

Eichel starts the 2021-2022 season with the Sabres, and will likely stay with the team through 2026.

This isn’t a coaching problem. Eichel has an issue with the organization as they’re withholding him from having the surgery he wants. I doubt Eichel is a Sabre by the end of next year.

It is not presently a coaching problem. The coach responsible is no longer the head coach for the Buffalo Sabres.

If Eichel wants the surgery, it should have been done already. Why start the 2020-2021 season playing with the injury?

The team is not letting him get surgery. He had a treatment plan that they denied. That’s the issue! He literally spoke about it yesterday and how him and the organization are at a disconnect.

The specifics of Eichel's injuries and what treatment is advised are limited. Information cannot be disclosed under the United States' Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 2003.

The disconnect is your opinion lacks facts.

Eichel literally spoke to the media yesterday about how he wanted to do one thing but the team didn’t allow him to. So I’m not sure if you’re just completely ignoring that, or if you just don’t care, but when Eichel is literally saying these things I’m going to trust what he’s saying. He was literally asked “if you want to go and get a surgery or a treatment, why don’t you just go do it?” To which he said something along the lines of “it’s not that simple, you can’t just go and do that” to which he was asked “is that because you’re under contract and they won’t let you?” To which he said something like you nailed it.

Go watch his interview

I have watched his interview many times.

Yes, a player cannot go out and get a surgery or a treatment for the sake of getting it. I doubt Eichel is seeking elective procedures and treatments to pimp his body. If a serious injury such as a disc in the neck needs to be treated, it has to be done the best way for the patient. No doubt team and personal physicians are involved in the process.

Alright, I’m done talking to a brick wall. You just reinforced what I said about him wanting a procedure but them not allowing it. If it was a serious procedure like you said he’d be wanting, why would they say no?

Your wires are crossed. What you are saying is different from what Eichel is saying. There is nothing more I can converse with you in this conversation.

If the Sabres don't get fair value for him in return he stays. He really doesn't have a choice, he signed the contract. He's not gonna sit out or retire. They can make him happy by adding talent to the team. Maybe trading Dahlin for some talented forwards and drafting Power would be a good start.

Why do you think Buffalo is reportedly demanding an outrageous price? Buffalo could also win the deal if the surgery doesn't work out and Eichel isn't the same player.