The secret has been out for quite a few years now, the relationship between the Buffalo Sabres and their superstar Captain, Jack Eichel, is on it's last leg. After the last three-or-so years of trade rumors, multiple reports of Eichel and his camp wanting out of Buffalo, and back handed shots at one another from both sides, 2021-22 seems like the year that Eichel will finally don a new uniform.
On Friday, July 30th, Jack Eichel's agent revealed that he fully expected Buffalo to have traded Eichel by now, after stating that the "process is not working." Multiple teams were rumored to be seriously in on Eichel. The New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, and Vegas Golden Knights were among the teams to be the frontrunners for Buffalo's Captain, with the Rangers believed to have the strongest package for the 24-year old center. Buffalo's General Manager, Kevyn Adams, did what Kevyn Adams does, and complicated the trade process. It has since been believed that all three aforementioned teams have backed out of trade talks with Buffalo.
The situation seems to worsen by the hour, as Jack Eichel's camp recently released the following statement:
Eichel sat out most of the 2020-21 season with a neck injury. Eichel, his camp, and his own personal neurosurgeon have suggested that Artificial Disk Replacement surgery is the best course of action to fix Eichel's ailments. The Buffalo Sabres organization seems to disagree.
Simply put, Jack Eichel is being held hostage in Western New York. By dragging his feet, Kevyn Adams has done nothing but lower Eichel's trade value day by day, and will eventually be forced to take pennies for him once Eichel finally publicly demands a trade. The great fans of the Buffalo Sabres hockey club, and Jack Eichel himself deserve so much better than Kevyn Adams and the Pegula's.
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-Chris
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