Jack Eichel: Where Will He End Up?

It’s no secret that star Sabres forward, Jack Eichel, is unhappy with his current situation in Buffalo. This stems from a disagreement between the organization and Eichel on whether he should receive a surgery never before performed on an NHL player in order to heal his herniated disk. While Eichel is frustrated with the team, he has not formally requested a trade, but that hasn’t stopped teams from calling. It’s expected that Jack Eichel is out of Buffalo before the start of next season. Many teams have inquired about the young star over the last few weeks, leaving many suitors and possible landing spots for Eichel next year.

Minnesota Wild

General Manager Bill Guerin seems to finally have the Minnesota Wild on the path to success. The Wild have rather infamously been a team caught between a constant of championship caliber and rebuild. They always seem to barely miss or barely make the playoffs, but that seems to be on the way out with the arrival of rookie Kirill Kaprizov. The 24-year-old led the team in scoring, with 27 goals and 51 points in 55 games, quickly becoming the new face of hockey in Minnesota. However, it’s recently been leaked that the Wild and Kaprizov are having contract disputes that could lead him to returning to the KHL or him being traded.

This leads us to the Jack Eichel question. A team like Minnesota that’s on rise in the league could be looking to acquire a star center of his caliber given the relatively recent departure of Eric Staal. Now if an extension with Kaprizov can’t be met soon, a trade with Eichel going to the Wild and Kaprizov going to the Sabres could be made. This is improbable, as I don’t expect Minnesota to let Kaprizov go after waiting patiently for him to arrive from the KHL for years, but Russian stars have done it before so everything is on the table. Obviously, this would take more from Minnesota’s end to get Buffalo to bite on the offer. If Minnesota can lock up Kaprizov long term, then in my opinion they should do what they can to acquire Eichel. A line of Eichel, Kaprizov, and Zuccarello could be the piece that puts Minnesota back on the map since the departure of the North Stars in 1993.

Anaheim Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks are currently in the midst of a rebuild and have some decisions with their aging core ahead of the Expansion Draft and free agency. Ryan Getzlaf is a pending free agent and is possibly out the door. The likes of Adam Henrique, Cam Fowler, and Jakob Silfverberg are all also on the wrong side of 30 with time left of each of their contracts. The Ducks need to desperately get younger if they want to contend for the Stanley Cup, sooner rather than later.

Back in January, when Pierre-Luc Dubois was benched, by then Columbus Head Coach John Tortorella, trade rumors swirled before he was eventually sent to the Jets in exchange for Patrik Laine. The Ducks at the time, were heavily in negotiations with the Blue Jackets before they lost out on the bid. It seems they are still seeking a young center as they have been linked to Jack Eichel and Dubois once again this offseason. It seems that the only “untouchables” are Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras as Ducks were reportedly unwilling to part with them back in those talks earlier this year. It seems likely that the 3rd Overall Pick this year and several other picks and/or younger players are in play. I believe these players will be prospect Jakob Perreault (or a similarly rated player), Maxine Comtois, and Adam Henrique along with the 3rd Overall Pick and a Sweetener to take on the last years of Henrique’s contract.

This deal certainly works in favor of both teams as Buffalo gains a young prospect with good potential, a great young player, and a center in Henrique to hold down their top line for the next few seasons. Not to mention, they will also be receiving the 3rd Overall Selection and a future 3rd due to Henrique having three more seasons left on his contract (and Anaheim wanting to unload his salary and clear a roster spot). Anaheim, of course, gets a Center who should lock their first line for the decade to come. Look for Anaheim to be one of the main suitors for Jack Eichel as they’ve been looking to make a big splash for their team’s future.

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings are another team that finds themselves in a rebuild but they have a bright future is Quinton Byfield, Alex Turcotte, Arthur Kaliyev, amongst other stars in the making. It’s no wonder why the Kings have the number one ranked prospect pool in the NHL. The team also has plenty of cap space and more coming off the books over the next few seasons should they choose to use it via trade or free agency. They have plenty of flexibility to set themselves up for a successful future.

One of the ways the Kings could set themselves up for the long term is by trading for Jack Eichel. While they do have centers Gabriel Vilardi and Anze Kopitar currently on the roster and Byfield and Turcotte in the pipeline, players on Eichel’s level are very hard to come by and this could pave the way to one of these younger centers to be heading back the other way to the Empire State. Kopitar will be retiring in the next few years as well which will leave the top line open for the Kings down the middle.

The Kings initially had inquired about Eichel but since cooled their interest possibly due to a high asking price and their abundance of centers in the pipeline. It seems unlikely now that Eichel will end up in the City of Angels now but the Sabres are reportedly circling around to the Kings to gauge their interest. Keep an eye on the Kings still as they still could compete with their in-state rival Ducks for Eichel.

Philadelphia Flyers

Was this past season a mirage or was that the future of the Philadelphia Flyers? General Manager Chuck Fletcher hopes it’s the former as he looks to retool a team that looked absolutely lost and failed to reach the postseason after being a great team the previous year. Just about everything that could go wrong did for the Flyers as Carter Hart severely regressed, Shayne Gostisbehere was waived and cleared after an abhorrent season, and the team falling apart defensively.

The Flyers will likely look to add someone that could help them get back into the postseason this year. That’s most likely why they have been linked to Eichel recently despite their center depth. However, a trade for Eichel seems out of place considering that this would freeze most of Philly’s cap unless they plan on moving on from Captain Claude Giroux (which I believe would be a mistake). For this trade to make sense they would have to cut costs in other places to make room or send a player back to Buffalo. That player would most likely be Gostisbehere as the team clearly is no longer committed to him long term and he could make an intriguing project for the Sabres as he is still in his 20s. Now if the Sabres don’t want Gostisbehere and a few sweetener picks, expect a high level prospect like Tyson Foerster to be heading the other way. The Sabres will want to maximize Eichel’s value to a team that could be desperate enough to give up some of their prospects in an already depth prospect pool.

New York Rangers

With the arrival of Gerard Gallant, the New York Rangers may finally be back. After one of the quickest turnarounds in hockey, the team has a boat load of high level talent and more in the system on its way. This team is looking to have a breakthrough season with a new front office and coaching staff at the helm for Blueshirts. GM Chris Drury will be seeking to improve on an already great team he inherited from his predecessor.

It seems that Drury has looked into Eichel as a possible cornerstone for his club as the Rangers have had trade discussions with the Sabres. These talks have cooled slightly since then (probably due to Buffalo’s request for one of Kaapo Kakko or Alexis Lafrenière) but it remains a possibility for both teams. If the Rangers are unwilling to part with one of their prized young forwards then it will take a huge package of picks to get Eichel in a Ranger’s Uniform. This would look like two 1st Round Picks, a young forward like Brett Howden, and a prospect along the lines of Eric Ciccolini from the University of Michigan. Whether or not either team would agree to such an offer remains to be seen as this would leave little money to re-sign many of New York’s pending free agents. While the Rangers seem to be a popular landing spot for Eichel, I’m not sure this is the case given their forward depth. Rather, Eichel’s teammate Rasmus Ristolainen may end up in the Big Apple as the team needs more help on the second power play unit.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus, much like Philadelphia, regressed after having an expectation to compete for a playoff spot this year. Internal issues on the team also caused Dubois to be traded to Winnipeg for Laine only for the same issues to arise with Laine. This has subsequently led to Head Coach John Tortorella and the Blue Jackets to mutually part ways. Seth Jones has also stated he will not resign with the team before testing free agency next year which certainly doesn’t help the team right the ship. With so much upheaval in the organization, the Blue Jackets have acquired several first round picks through the Nick Folgino trade with Toronto and the David Savard trade with Tampa Bay. The team hopes that these picks can be traded this picks for players to help them now or by drafting players for the same purpose.

This abundance of draft capital has made the Blue Jackets inquire on Jack Eichel. Now this trade would likely be mostly picks or picks and a combination of some players that could provide long term use for Buffalo such as Max Domi (who will likely look for a place that will provide him with ample playing time). I could see this work out as Toronto’s and Tampa’s 1st Round Picks this season, plus Domi and maybe Elvis Merzlikins. Elvis makes sense in this deal given Columbus actively shopping him and Buffalo lacking a starting goaltender with Linus Ullmark testing free agency. If Buffalo doesn’t seem interested in this offer (or a similar one) Columbus has a whole other 1st Round Pickens Seth Jones (who is still young) to offer to the Sabres as well.

Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago recently told the fans they would commit to a rebuild of the team after several years of trying to compete with an ever-aging core. With the rise of a few young guns like Domink Kulbalík and Alex DeBrincat the Blackhawks are getting younger for the first time in a long time. Questions still remain about the futures of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Brent Seabrook with the organization after the team allowed longtime Hawks goalie Corey Crawford walk before his retirement shortly later.

The direction of this team is a confusing one as they seemed committed to the rebuild but have begun pursuing the likes of Eichel, Dougie Hamilton, and others on the trade block around the NHL. I think the Blackhawks are looking to give their fans a little more hope and a trade for Eichel could do just that. Toews isn’t getting any younger and having Eichel center your 2nd line until he sails off into the sunset or gets moved sounds very attractive to the Hawks.

The Hawks would likely have put together a package of both prospects and picks to get Buffalo to budge. This would start with the 12th overall pick and some 2nd/3rd picks. Alec Regula and Evan Barratt or similarly rated prospects would also need to be added to sweeten this deal for the Sabres, who will have many GMs on their phone lines. While the interest from the Windy City seems real, there’s a slim chance they will part with a bundle of picks given their rebuild status and timeline to get back on track. I’d expect Chicago to be more of a seller than a buyer at this point.

Summary

Given the sad state of affairs in Buffalo, I’m fully expecting Eichel to be moved and possibly several other players on the Sabres. The team has gone no where in the last decade and there is no end in sight. Trading a star like Eichel is never a good idea but the organization's lack of support for Eichel’s surgery may have permanently ruined his relationship with the front office and management. It seems Buffalo will have to get worse before they get better, if that’s somehow possible. I would expect a trade before the expansion draft so the Sabres don’t have to use a protection slot on someone they don’t think will be with them for the long term.