The Jack Eichel saga is finally over in Buffalo. According to TSN reporter Darren Dreger, the star forward was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights overnight.
In addition to Eichel, a third round pick is included in the trade. In return, the Buffalo Sabers get their hands on 20-year-old center Peyton Krebs, 25-year-old veteran winger Alex Tuch as well as first-round picks in 2022 and third-round picks in 2023. Clarification: The choice first round must be excluded from the top 10.
The stalemate between Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabers had been stretching for several months now. The forward was stripped of his captain’s title at the start of the season, in addition to being placed on the long-term injured list.
The star player, who has been bothered by a herniated disc in his neck since the start of March, wanted to undergo disc replacement surgery. As such an intervention was never carried out on a player of the National League, the Sabers opposed it hard as iron. The team’s doctors instead offered a so-called “fusion” intervention, which the player in turn refused.
Still according to Darren Dreger, it seems that Eichel will finally soon undergo the operation he wanted. However, it is not known how long the rehabilitation can last.
One thing is certain, the Golden Knights will be able to count on an excellent first line, for several years, when Eichel is back in health. After all, Eichel has 355 points in 375 NHL games. The Knights will be visiting Montreal on Saturday to face the Canadian.
For his part, Tuch has not played this season due to shoulder surgery. In theory, he should return to the game in a little over a month. He had his best season, with 20 goals and 32 assists, in 2018-19. Krebs, for his part, is a top prospect, first-round pick in 2019. He has zero points in nine games this season with the Knights.