Las Vegas Golden Knights Acquire Jack Eichel Via Sabres
IT HAPPENED! After being stripped of his captaincy and fighting with Buffalo over possible medical procedures, Jack Eichel finally got his wish. The former second overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft (behind Connor McDavid) has been traded to the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Kelly McCrimmon has been one of the most aggressive general managers in the sport and now has struck again in a huge way.
The news was first reported by TSN:
“While the deal is still pending a trade call with the league, TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports forwards Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs, a 2022 first-round pick and a third-round pick in 2023 are going back to the Sabres, who will send a 2023 third-round pick along with Eichel to Vegas.
Dreger adds the first-round pick heading to Buffalo is top-10 protected, while the Sabres retained no salary on Eichel’s $10 million cap hit.”
On the surface, it would appear the Knights did well in this trade. However, Vegas had limited cap space as it is and things just got really complicated. Tuch had a cap hit of $4.75 million. Eichel has one of $10 million and Buffalo didn’t retain any salary. Tuch is also a tough talent to give up on.
Ditto for Peyton Krebs. Vegas didn’t want to deal Krebs. However, Krebs, 20, has not tallied a single point this year in nine games. The jury is still very much out on the 17th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. Krebs has thrived in the AHL for what that’s worth.
Eichel is now set to have the surgery that he wants. After completing the disc replacement surgery, the newest member of the Golden Knights is expected to return to the ice in approximately four months. If accurate, Eichel should be able to play well before the regular season is over.
