The Jack Eichel situation got very interesting on Monday after he gave a lengthy press conference and talked about his relationship with the Buffalo Sabres and his future. If the New York Rangers were interested in Eichel, the possibility that he will be wearing a different uniform next season got a lot more real.
To characterize the presser as agonizing would be accurate. While Eichel didn’t say he had asked for a trade, when asked about it he didn’t deny it.
Apparently, a lot of issues stem from the injury that knocked him out of action, a herniated disc in his neck. It appeared that Eichel wanted to have surgery to repair it and the team disagreed.
Eichel was blunt about it. “I’ve been a bit upset about the way that things have been handled since I’ve been hurt. I’d be lying to say things have moved smoothly since my injury. There’s been a bit of a disconnect from the organization & myself.”
Eichel said that contractually, he had to do what the team said, though he also said “My number one interest and my number one goal is Jack Eichel… You’ve got to look after yourself, you’ve got to look after what you think is best for yourself, and the organization has a similar job to do but it’s to look after what’s best for the Buffalo Sabres.”
He then dropped a hint that he may not be in Buffalo next season. “I think the most important thing is just trying to get healthy and figure out a way to be available to play hockey next year… wherever that might be.”
Frustration
As he did last year, Eichel expressed frustration with how the season went for the Sabres. “I’m frustrated,” Eichel said. “You can’t sit here on media day and be happy that we’re having this conversation and you know we should still be playing. Did we have a hard year? Yeah, we did, and I think when that happens, it forces everyone to just consider what you could do better… What you think maybe the future holds.”
That doesn’t mean he will walk away from his contract in an effort to force a trade. He said “I think I have a lot of thinking to do this off-season, I think there’s a lot I have to consider. But for now obviously I’m here, I am the captain of this hockey team and my goal is to be available and to try and help the guys and this organization win hockey games.”
He reinforced that message. “As long as I’m here, my duty is to be the leader of this team and be available for these guys in the group.”
Another issue for Eichel is the change in coaches. He never actually played for Don Granato and spoke glowingly about fired coach Ralph Krueger. Eichel had the best year of his career with Krueger as his coach and he obviously was not happy he was let go.
So, what about the Rangers????
The Rangers are not the only team that would be in on an Eichel sweepstakes You can be sure that the Sabres would prefer to find a destination somewhere out of the Eastern Conference, which puts the Blueshirts at a disadvantage.
Despite Eichel’s apparent desire for a trade, he is under contract to the Sabres for another five years at $10 million per year. He has a No Movement Clause that doesn’t kick in until the 2022-23 season. It means that the Sabres can set a high price and hold out for it. They still hold the leverage in any trade and will continue until Eichel does something drastic (like not report and forfeit his salary).