Vegas Golden Knights should look to rescue Eichel from Buffalo hell
Just imagine Jack Eichel in a Vegas Golden Knights jersey…
It is a tantalizing thought isn’t it, and one that could well become reality one day if the Vegas Golden Knights wanted to add another big star to the equation.
Now, I hear some of you say that Jack Eichel is a franchise player for the Buffalo Sabres, even the face of the franchise for that organization.
That could change, and soon, however.
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In the wake of the NHL revealing their Return To Play Plan, the Sabres were one of seven teams to have 2019-20 season officially brought to a close.
As a result, the misery continues for the Buffalo Sabres who finished the year with a 30-31-8 record and have now gone nine straight seasons without making the postseason.
And Eichel is sick of it.
Speaking to reporters on a conference call on Thursday in what was effectively a locker-room clean-out interview, Eichel let rip with his frustrations:
“I’m fed up with the losing and I’m fed up and I’m frustrated. I’m a competitor, I want to win every time I go out onto the ice, I want to win the Stanley Cup every time I start a season.”
He also went on to admit that he is “getting frustrated with the way things are going” in Buffalo, and that is the money quote.
While a stunning parting of the ways may not be on the cards yet, it could be if the Sabres don’t right the ship and soon.
Head Coach Ralph Krueger is said to have a pristine relationship with his players, but that won’t count for much if the Sabres don’t start winning and don’t start becoming relevant again.
And, if the losing doesn’t stop soon, if the bleeding doesn’t stop soon, it wouldn’t be surprising if Eichel did eventually request a trade in order to win elsewhere.
If that were to happen someway down the line, then the Vegas Golden Knights should be one of the many teams that would be lobbying for Eichel’s attention and affection.
So, while we wait for hockey to return, we thought it would be fun to delve into the reasons for and against the Golden Knights rescuing Jack Eichel from his Buffalo Sabres hell…
Why It Would Work
This is pretty obvious but we are going to delve in and explain anyway.
Jack Eichel is a generational talent and he would push any legitimate contender over the top and then some.
Drafted 2nd overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Eichel does get lost in the looming shadow cast by the man picked above him that year, Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid.
Eichel is an absolute stud in his own right, however, and he’s really elevated his game over the past couple of years, while it isn’t his fault he was drafted by a franchise that continually trends backwards rather than forwards.
He burst out with a career-year in 2018-19 for the Sabres, recording 82 points (28 goals, 54 assists) in 77 games, before putting up 36 goals and 42 assists for 78 points 68 games prior to the NHL going on hiatus this year.
And just think of the damage Eichel could really wreak when put on a better team with a plethora of potent weapons around him.
With either Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith or Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone as his line mates, Eichel would truly thrive in Sin City and he would be the star on a contending team.
He hasn’t hit his prime yet so he could elevate his game to a whole different level with the Golden Knights with more pieces around him, which is a scary thought for the rest of the NHL.
Plus, with his current contract running through the 2025-26 season, Eichel would slot right in with the current core group in Vegas and could be the difference between one Stanley Cup and multiple championships.
From a salary cap perspective, as we mentioned in the previous slide it is likely to be a couple of years until anything dramatic happens with Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres, if at all.
With that in mind, let’s say that Eichel requests a trade following the conclusion of the 2021-22 NHL season.
The Golden Knights would be free from Paul Stastny‘s $6,500,000 cap hit by that point, while they could look to shop Reilly Smith who would be going into the final year of his contract.
But, with Stastny’s albatross of a contract off the books coupled with the fact that the salary cap could rise by the 2022-23 season should the world be back in order by then, the Knights would be able to find a way to make Eichel’s Average Annual Value of $10,000,000 work.
And, after all, if an elite talent such as Jack Eichel becomes available, you work whatever magic with the salary cap you can in order to make it work.
Why It Wouldn’t Work
For starters, there probably would be some concern from the front office over committing a hefty chunk of the salary cap to another superstar.
As mentioned in the previous slide, Jack Eichel is currently in year two of an eight-year, $80,000,000 contract with an Average Annual Value of $10,000,000.
While the 23-year-old is rapidly proving that he’s worth every dollar of that, the Golden Knights would be committed to just under $30 million ($27,400,000 to be precise) on five forwards if they pulled the trigger on a stunning trade for Eichel.
That is a lot of money on just five forwards to commit to, although if you are in your win-now window you may as well go for it.
There is a bigger issue at hand here, however.
The price the Golden Knights would have to pay.
As already mentioned, Eichel is bordering on a generational talent and he’s only going to get better given that he is only 23.
When looking at what he’s done already from an individual standpoint, compared to what he could do with better pieces and a better support system around him, then the ceiling is sky-high for the center.
As a result, the Buffalo Sabres are going to want a king’s ransom back in return.
And so they should.
Not only is Eichel the Captain of the Sabres but he is also the face of the franchise, the savior that was meant to spearhead that organization towards brighter days.
So if Eichel wants out it will be his decision and not Buffalo’s, which means if they are forced into giving up their biggest asset, they will want a hell of a package back in return.
What would that package look like?
It is hard to predict right now given that this is just a hypothetical, but it will be a lot more substantial than the high-end prospect and the Second-Round pick the Golden Knights sent to the Ottawa Senators for Mark Stone at the 2019 Trade Deadline.
A comparable of sorts could be the Eric Lindros trade on June 20, 1992 when the Philadelphia Flyers sent an absolute monster package, featuring two First-Round picks and stars such as Peter Forsberg and Mike Ricci to The Nordiques for Lindros.
Using that as a slight but very loose guide, the Golden Knights would absolutely have to package up a couple of First-Round picks, in addition to a couple of high-end prospects and a proven performer in the NHL.
Given where the Golden Knights are with the core they have constructed, they may be loathe to rob Peter in order to pay Paul, and leveraging more of the future for one player might be the sticking point.
On the flip side, we have seen how desperate Owner Bill Foley is for a Stanley Cup and, if we get a couple of years down the line with the Vegas Golden Knights still without a championship and Jack Eichel becomes available, then things will get real interesting.
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Again, this is just a fun exercise and it isn’t based on any inside knowledge or anything like that, but it will be interesting to see how the situation involving Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres develops going forward.
The Vegas Golden Knights, along with the rest of the NHL, will no doubt be keeping a close and keen eye on any developments in Western New York.