Thursday marked the end of the Jack Eichel sweepstakes when the Buffalo Sabres traded the star center to the Vegas Golden Knights, but there were a few more teams in the race.
Naturally, someone of Eichel’s caliber will generate a lot of interest despite the steep asking price from Buffalo, coupled with the 25-year-old needing surgery to repair a herniated disc.
The Calgary Flames on Wednesday appeared ready to make something happen for Eichel, but anything can happen in the NHL and they had some stiff competition.
According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Carolina Hurricanes, Flames and Vegas were the three teams up until the end of the Eichel saga.
“My sense is the ‘Canes weren’t close but certainly stayed in those talks to make sure,” LeBrun tweeted.
The Golden Knights gave up Peyton Krebs, Alex Tuch, a first-round draft pick in 2022 and a third-round pick in 2023. Buffalo retained no salary on Eichel’s contract, which may have been a deal-breaker for other teams.
Eichel is on injured reserve and the procedure he likely will have has not been done on an NHL player before, so it’s unclear just when he will make his Vegas debut, though general manager Kelly McCrimmon estimates about a three-to-five month recovery.
