During a radio interview on WGR 550, TSN’s hockey insider Darren Dreger noted that there’s some chatter involving injured superstar center Jack Eichel. While appearing on “The Instigators” show, Dreger suggested that Eichel might not be with the Buffalo Sabres next season and named the team he believes he might wind up with.
The reports Dreger was hearing was that the Los Angeles Kings have an interest in Eichel and he believes the player would be a good fit there. One would assume, Eichel, 24, would be ushered in as an eventual replacement for Anze Kopitar.
Talk connecting Eichel and the Kings is not new. Elliotte Friedman was part of the show about a month ago and discussed the on-going rumors swirling around the Sabres former second overall pick in 2015. At that time, he said:
“We know that this is something that came up last summer, okay, and I don’t know if it was ever close. The feeling I’ve always had is that Buffalo knew that Eichel was unhappy. They asked Eichel to take a step last year and he really did. We talked about how much of a step Eichel took last year, and still when it came to team success, it just didn’t really go anywhere.”
Now, with Eichel on the shelf with an injury and offseason surgery scheduled on a herniated disc in his neck, the outlook of a potential trade may have changed slightly. Still, Dreger thinks there could be something to the Eichel and Kings rumors.
Dreger said, “He’s hoping to have the procedure in early May. Frankly, I’m surprised the Sabres didn’t confirm or deny him having surgery and saying they’ll re-evaluate in a couple weeks. They’re hoping six weeks for a recovery timeline. That puts Sabres forward Jack Eichel in a good spot to return for training camp and the 2021-22 season.” He then added, “Purely speculating, I don’t see Sabres forward Jack Eichel playing in Buffalo next season. I believe there’s a team out west that’s expressed interest in Eichel.”
He added:
“Somebody’s going to have to pay the right price to trade for Sabres captain Jack Eichel. If they don’t get the return needed, then he’ll stay in Buffalo. It feels like it’s time for a change. Don’t know how recent the communications have been, but I’ve heard the Kings are interested in Sabres captain Jack Eichel. Eichel in LA makes a ton of sense to me. Assuming Jack Eichel is in play, there will be a lot of teams that step up.”
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