Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, Jack Eichel may finally be on the move…Or at least maybe in the near future.
It has been a long offseason of rumors and speculation in regards to what is going to happen with Sabres center Jack Eichel. Will he be traded? Is he healthy enough to play? Will he get surgery? All of these questions still remain unanswered but it seems as if we could be getting just a little bit closer to some sort of answer.
The biggest question surrounding Eichel is his health, he wants to get disk replacement surgery but the Sabres have not been on board with it. They agree that he needs surgery, but they have yet to agree to the exact procedure that he should get done. Eichel’s former teammate Robin Lehner caused quite a stir this past weekend with some comments in regard to Eichel’s situation.
The Sabres were also holding out on giving teams access to Eichel’s medical records which was making a trade even hard to come to fruition. But now that has changed and progress seems to being getting made with the list of teams that are interested in possibly making a move for Eichel.
The list has been the same for most of the offseason with teams like the Bruins, Rangers, and Kings being the top contenders. But there are also some other interesting names in play that ESPN’s John Buccigross has alluded to as to where he think Eichel could end up.
Another team that isn’t on Bucci’s list that had made a strong push to try an acquire Eichel is the Calgary Flames.
This is still an ongoing situation as it has been for months at this point but maybe now we could finally see a deal go down. Personally, I think Eichel ends up with either the Bruins or the New York Rangers. I think the more interesting part of the deal other than where he lands is going to be exactly what he is worth at this point. Let’s say his new team lets him get the surgery he has been trying to get, how long will he be out for? Will he be the same player after the surgery? Finally, is he worth risking the future of your franchise because you know Buffalo is going to want prospects and draft picks in return.
Eichel is a great player but has a history of injuries and I’d have to think some teams may be hesitant to throw the farm at Buffalo with so much uncertainty.
For Jack’s sake, I am hoping he gets moved soon, Buffalo has handled this entire situation very poorly and he deserves better than how he has been getting treated.
-Walsh