After months of rumors and speculation as to not only where but when Jack Eichel would end up getting moved to. The next portion of speculation prior to today’s big trade was which team would take the risk on Eichel? Per Darren Dreger of TSN “The Buffalo Sabres trade Jack Eichel and a 2023 3rd round pick, to the Golden Knights for Peyton Krebs, Alex Tuch, a 1st in 2022 and a 3rd in 2023.” This is all happening as the Golden Knights got off to a strong start to the 2021-22 NHL season.
Golden Knights receive
Eichel was the captain of the Sabres and from 2015-16 to 2019-20 seasons before his injury in the 2020-21 season. The 25-year-old has put up a minimum of 56 to 82 points per season when healthy. When he is healthy Eichel is a 24 to 36 goal per season type of centerman that the Golden Knights have acquired at a low cost.
2023 Third round pick
This is likely going to be heavily dependent on how not only the Sabres finish that season but can be dependent on how the top 32 picks in the Connor Bedard and Matvei Michkov draft class shake out. The fact of the matter is Buffalo could package the 2023 3rd round pick to try and improve the Sabres near-term needs and their farm system.
Buffalo Sabres receive
Peyton Krebs
The center and left-wing I had written about in his draft class as someone who “Crashes the net. Good passer, good speed, good snapshot. Skates well for a potential mid-6 winger. Doesn’t shoot enough. Great snapshot, and a solid quick shot.” Peyton Krebs wasn’t ever going to see the ice in a Golden Knights uniform given the rosters they have put together in recent years. Getting a lot of ice time in Buffalo will help Krebs only begin to blossom into a player described by McKeen’s Hockey in 2019 “He is a high-end playmaker with great vision and the ability to execute any number of tricky passes that can catch defenses.”
Alex Tuch
Historically is a 37 to 52 point type of player who can play top 9 forward minutes. He is a 15 to 20 goals-per-season type of player who can be more of a playmaker and could bring some veteran experience to the Sabres lineup.
Buffalo receives Las Vegas’ Conditional first-round pick. In the literature per CapFriendly, it reads “If Vegas’ first-round pick in the 2022 draft is a top ten pick, then Vegas will transfer 2024 2nd round pick instead.” Basically, Vegas is betting on their draft pick and saying with conditions “we want you to finish 11-32 instead.”
Third round pick in 2023
The Vegas third-round pick in 2023 will depend on how the prospects perform going into their draft year. So it will depend on what the Sabres expect back to either trade or use the pick and keep building up their team.
Conclusion
The Golden Knights make up big time on the Eichel deal at a historically low-cost basis for the trade and it all depends on the outcome of his play in a Golden Knights uniform. However, Buffalo could come up big with the trade tree with Peyton Krebs turning out to be a big name of his own in Buffalo, and Alex Tuch getting to play in a big traditional hockey market.
This is a major improvement for Buffalo but this trade deal should be revisited three to 10 seasons from now similar to how the Taylor Hall, Mark Stone moves have over the past several seasons. Sometimes a trade works out for both parties, and some are lopsided; this is why it’s better off and remain patient before anyone grades this deal and prejudging it before all is said and done.
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