According to a report from Buffalo Sabres insider John Vogl of The Athletic, Sabres GM Kevyn Adams and Peter Fish, player agent for captain Jack Eichel, had a long discussion yesterday concerning Eichel's situation from the team. Adams says that he's looking at "anything and everything" and that he and Fish are in contact daily about a potential Eichel trade. It's worth noting that Adams has also said that the team's position concerning a potential experimental neck surgery for Eichel has not changed and that they cannot condone the procedure.
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Further to that Vogl reports that he's been in discussion with Fish and that Fish reports the two sides are "heading towards a resolution."
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For Eichel's sake I hope the resolution is a first class ticket out of the city of Buffalo. Nothing against the Sabres or their fanbase, but the longer this situation goes on the more toxic it becomes for both sides. It's clear that Eichel doesn't want to play for the Sabres any longer and the longer that this process drags out the uglier things will get. Adams should be looking to move Eichel while his value is still sky high so that he can maximize the return and help his team and its fanbase move on to the next chapter. The longer he allows this to drag on the worse the end result will be for the Sabres.
Complicating this entire mess of course is the fact that owners Kim and Terry Pegula have a large say in anything and everything the Sabres do. And honestly, would you be surprised if the Pegulas are content to let this drag on just so they can twist the knife in on Eichel a little more. After all, the Pegulas are the ones paying Eichel his $10 million annual salary and they committed the largest contract in franchise history to him with the expectation that he'd carry the team to better days. Now that the marriage has ended up in divorce court, I expect things could get real, real, REAL ugly this offseason. To date we haven't heard a statement from the Pegulas on Eichel's situation, but I'm just waiting for the moment so that this things goes absolutely nuclear.
