The Flames failed to acquire Jack Eichel!

Fans got encouraging news on Wednesday morning when TSN insider Darren Dreger reported that sources have told him that the Eichel saga may be shifting. 

“Ongoing discussions and additional access to Jack Eichel’s medical file has helped teams with trade interest clearly see his situation.  Both sides are hopeful something can be worked out soon with one of the clubs in the mix.”

Back in September, Eichel failed his physical at the Buffalo Sabres’ training camp and was stripped of his captaincy. His trade and future remain uncertain all because the team and its franchise player remain at an impasse over surgery options. It has been mentioned that the forward is willing to go anywhere to facilitate a trade, but a huge issue remains when it come to his pending surgery. 

Eichel favors having artificial disk replacement surgery. The Sabres are against him having the procedure because it has never been performed on an NHL player. However, the Sabres’ way means that a patient could have three surgeries in 20 years.

This has been the major obstacle to get him traded out of Buffalo, however, now that interested teams have seen his medical file, it seems like a trade could take place sooner than we ever thought! 

Speaking of trade, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman recently revealed that Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving put in some serious effort to acquire the 24-year-old this summer.

“One of the teams that we knew was really big into (acquiring Eichel) was Calgary,” Friedman said on the Jeff Marek Show. “Calgary really tried. And not once did anybody say to me ‘he wouldn’t go to Calgary.’”

When training camp kicked off in Calgary, it was easy to see that Treliving sounded irritated and we now wonder if it had anything to do with the failed trade. At one point, he got defensive with questions, saying that ans don’t understand that making trades at the NHL level is not like making them in fantasy hockey.

With Dreger’s update on Wednesday morning, you have to wonder if Treliving and the Flames will try to acquire Eichel again, despite the heavy price tag. It is believed that Sabres GM Kevyn Adams is seeking and not budging from his demand of the equivalent of four first-round picks,  which could be anything from young, established roster players, A-level prospects, or actual first-round draft picks in the next two NHL drafts.

To be continued…