If you're an NHL team wanting to trade for Jack Eichel, you best call up Kevyn Adams now.
The Buffalo Sabres and their star center all but certainly are headed for a divorce. That will come via a trade, as Eichel has five years (and $50 million) left on his current eight-year deal. He's an elite player that might really benefit from a change of scenery, and some teams probably would be willing to make just about anyone available if it meant getting him.
And according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the Eichel rumors might start really heating up.
Wrote LeBrun on Wednesday: "And while I’m not saying the star center will get traded before the end of the playoffs, what I’m hearing is that conversations between the Buffalo Sabres and other interested teams are getting more intense and serious."
LeBrun mentions that, unsurprisingly, the Sabres likely will want a first-round pick in the upcoming draft as part of the package for Eichel. He also names the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers as teams that make sense.
Eichel does not have any trade protection at this point in his deal, so he's probably going to go to the team that offers the Sabres the most enticing package.
