Matthew Bores

Staff Writer

mdb5896@psu.edu

It’s official, Jack Eichel is no longer a member of the Buffalo Sabres. After a long and drawn out conflict with the team that selected him second overall in 2015, the Vegas Golden Knights traded for the star forward. Eichel and the Sabres have been at odds for the better part of two seasons on how to go about their centerman’s herniated disk in his neck. Eichel was not able to receive the surgery needed because of a disagreement over the risk level of his preferred treatment, and this led to his ultimate estrangement with the organization. Ralph Krueger, who was at that time the Sabres’ head coach, said that Eichel would be out for an undetermined amount of time, hoping to hear that the injury had fixed itself, keeping the star player out of the game. Unable to have the surgery, Eichel had a physical on the 23rd of September, which he failed; it was subsequently revealed to the public he would be stripped of his captaincy. With the team not allowing the artificial disk surgery, it became clear Eichel was looking to be traded. Until recently, Buffalo was asking too much of other teams, leading the trade market for Eichel to be drawn to a painful length for the former number 2 pick. Toward the end of Eichel’s holdout, the Calgary Flames were reported to have joined Vegas as frontrunners for his services. Then came November 4th.

Vegas had been in the trade talks with Eichel for a long time, but the asking price had previously been too high for the Knights. Before the trade, Buffalo requested Peyton Krebs, who Vegas saw a lot of potential in. After playing for the team for nine games this season, however, he has not recorded any points, and was added into the deal for Eichel. Also put in the deal was winger Alex Tuch, who was selected by the Knights in the 2017 expansion draft. Tuch has been out with a shoulder injury sustained this past postseason. He was projected to miss 6 months of action at the time of his procedure. Also going to Buffalo was a 2022 first-round pick and a 2023 third-round pick. Vegas also received a 2022 third-round pick alongside the star forward. 

After the trade, Vegas confirmed that Eichel would receive his preferred artificial disk replacement and would be out at least 4 months. If the treatment proves successful and the timeline is correct, Jack Eichel could be back in enough time for a playoff push for the Golden Knights, but they look to not jump the gun on his recovery, hopefully making the postseason without him. Vegas is also going to be taking on what was left of Eichel’s contract for 5 years at a $10 million per season price tag, and this can prove to be an issue with Vegas’ already tight cap space. The Golden Knights will be $11 million over the allowed cap space, which may lead to more cuts or existing deal readjustments in the future. Vegas will need his production as they have had trouble since coming into the league in 2017 on special teams and especially on the power play, which they are currently last in the league with.