A new week dawns on the NHL world. In this piece, we have NHL news from the trade rumor mill. This, of course, includes the fact that one prominent forward (Jack Eichel) who may be out of the Buffalo Sabres’ fold soon enough. As always, at Vegas Betting, we have the latest news.
Unfortunately for Buffalo, the situation with Jack Eichel seems like it is headed toward an inevitable end. There are several issues here but one of the main ones is how good Eichel is as a forward.
The rumor mills continue to heat up with Jack Eichel. Right now, one of the main issues is the neck injury that may or may not require surgery. This depends on who you believe.
The injury that Eichel is believed to be suffering from a cervical herniation. Buffalo’s captain suffered from it for at least this season and who knows how long. Whether Eichel needs surgery is a big question. It appears the 12 weeks or so of therapy has done little. Furthermore, this has not eased the center’s position. The team thought that Eichel will be back.
Several layers exist with this story. One of the biggest aspects that the Buffalo Sabres are at least exploring trade ideas with other teams. This is even if they are not admitting as such. There are many teams interested in the services of the center, which makes $10 million AAV for the next five seasons.
This part of the rumor mill is where Pierre LeBrun and even Darren Dreger cannot be sure where Eichel actually ends up. Again, a lot of scenarios make sense for Eichel. The problem lies with General Manager Kevyn Adams. Buffalo traded Ryan O’Reilly once upon a time and got rooked badly. The Sabres feel history repeating itself.
The NHL playoffs appear a long, long way away for Eichel in Buffalo. Consider that even teammate Sam Reinhart is involved in rumors too and one gets the idea of what a trainwreck this may be. Buffalo finally won the NHL Draft Lottery but in the year of a pandemic.
The Sabres also are dealing with the prospect of losing Linus Ullmark to free agency. The soon to be 28-year-old goaltender remains one of the few bright spots but injuries limited him to just 20 games in 2021. Can Buffalo take that kind of risk on a goaltender who has appeared in just 91 games over the last three seasons?
Furthermore, that is the problem with Eichel. It seems the surrounding pieces are rumored to be on the way out as well. What is the forward supposed to think anyway? If the Captain sees chatter of what may happen down the road, does he want to perhaps desert the sinking ship? This becomes a valid question.
Jack Eichel possesses the ability to lift a team when he is healthy. The question posed to many is this. How long will it take for Eichel to get back to full health? The side question is, can he? The captain ranks an absurd 11.5% above the team relative percentage average. That is no small number. Maybe Eichel is that one piece on the path to NHL Stanley Cup glory.
It feels like that this speculation has gone on for months with Eichel. The media can be vicious with stories like this and some have been. No one really knows the full truth either. There exists a lot of uncertainties here. What is known is that there is some sort of disconnect between Buffalo and Jack Eichel. How bad that is? Now, that’s unknown.
There is another aspect of this story to keep in mind. This might just all be posturing to the extreme. For all, anyone knows, the center might just stay in Buffalo. Granted, the chances of that happening feel like they are decreasing by the day. On the other hand, anything is possible.
Basically, there is this to consider as well. This is again from Pierre LeBrun.
This is very true. Eichel is still a young player with a lot of years ahead of him career-wise and in life. Should he not have every right and option to seek the best medical advice out there? At the very least, he appears to be gathering information to make an informed decision.
Again, journalists, fans, and even some teams have speculated for a long time now as to where the Buffalo Sabres’ captain will end up. Most feel that it will not be Buffalo. The thought process is that the bridges have been burnt beyond repair. Is that true? Possibilities definitely exist to that reality.
This becomes the new wrinkle with the trade market. Expect to see more chaos as well this summer. Keep in mind, the NHL Draft this season is not until July 23rd. That is still a month away. Also, the NHL targets a start date of October 12th for the start of the 2021-22 season. Time starts to tick faster as a semblance of normalcy kicks in. The keyword is semblance. Teams will want to know if Eichel will be fully ready by then or not.
The center appears on the move but the media has been wrong before. Is a trade close? Is it not? Stay tuned!
