NHL: Jack Eichel trade down to Flames and Knights; 7 Sharks enter COVID protocol

jack Eichel rumors
Jan 24, 2020; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel (9) is introduced before the 2020 NHL All Star Game Skills Competition at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Is this really happening? Are we finally going to see a Jack Eichel trade? Over the last 24 hours, the trade rumor buzz surrounding the Sabres injured and disgruntled center appears to be heading that way.

According to Kevin Weekes, the top two destinations for Eichel are the Flames and Golden Knights. He states that the situation is fluid, but in all honesty it’s been that way since he made his desire to leave officially public.

Jack Eichel trade in the works

Starting late Friday, Eichel trade talk started to hit a fever pitch. Just prior to Weekes’ report, Frank Seravalli noted that Vegas and Buffalo were “well down the track in discussions of what the framework of a trade would look like.”

Earlier today, the Golden Knights claimed Michael Amaido off waivers from the Maple Leafs. That was a move that certainly raised some eyebrows.

jack eichel trade
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period also provided an update this evening. “Vegas remains very much engaged in talks with Buffalo,” he said. “There’s been a lot of traction towards a deal. One area still to be figured out, the dollars matching up (and how does that look if Eichel can’t play post-surgery).”

As for the Flames, some wonder if they have the goods to get a deal done. Would they be willing to include Connor Zary in a deal, and is Buffalo interested in him? That obviously won’t be enough, but it would have to be a starting point. Then Calgary has to clear cap space to fit Eichel in eventually, which spells the end of Johnny Gaudreau as a Flame and likely Sean Monahan.

So while the Flames remain a possibility, it looks like Vegas will be close to landing Eichel.

7 Sharks on COVID Protocol

Per the San Jose Sharks website these players have been placed into the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol:

F Andrew Cogliano
F Jonathan Dahlen
D Erik Karlsson
D Jake Middleton
F Matt Nieto
D Radim Simek
D Marc-Edouard Vlasic

This also caused a slight delay in the start time of their game this evening.

Anthony Scultore is the founder of Forever Blueshirts and has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL... More about Anthony Scultore

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