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Sabres shouldn't be in a hurry to move Eichel for top prospects |
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Two tenets of trades in professional sports always collide when a team considers trading an unhappy superstar.
The first belief, which always seems to take precedence, is that teams should never keep a player who doesn't want to be there. The theory that a disgruntled star will poison the dressing room was around before Howie Morenz was a toddler.
But the other tenet of dealing a premium player, which doesn't receive enough attention, is that a team rarely receives fair value when it moves a superstar.
The Sabres seem to be in that situation with Jack Eichel: my advice is to give more weight to the second tenet than the first.
We all know how these trades often end up not working out for the team giving up the exceptional player. The superstar is dealt for the promise of tomorrow, but tomorrow never ends up being as spectacular as you need it to be. The receiving team gets the best player and the losing team secures multiple assets. But none of those assets end up being as impactful as the traded player.
Given the state of Buffalo Sabres, this kind of deal would be a difficult sell to the fan base. The Sabres have missed the playoffs for an entire decade. Eichel is a 24-year-old who scored 137 goals in his first five NHL seasons. That's 28 goals per season for a below average team. He's a young, proven center who can skate and score. You can't often find these kind of players in the trade market or on the free agent list. You have to draft them.
Eichel is tied contractually with Buffalo for six more seasons. What's he going to do if the Sabres won't trade him? The Sabres have leverage in this situation; They should use it.
The reason Eichel is unhappy is he didn't like how the Sabres handled his injury. We can guess that he's also not happy that the Sabres haven't yet turned the corner in their rebuilding effort.
The best solution for the Sabres, fans and Eichel is for GM Kevyn Adams to show Eichel he can trust him to make good decisions moving forward.
Considering the Sabres' recent history, it's hard to blame Eichel for being skeptical.
Adams needs to show Eichel with actions, not words, that he's moving this team forward. The Sabres have a handful of desirable players, led by Eichel. Adams needs to revamp the Sabres in a similar fashion to how Bill Zito changed the Panthers. Zito identified the core players, and then changed more than half of the players on his roster. He added players who were undervalued, hard to play against or known as hard workers.
In Buffalo, it should start with re-signing Linus Ulmark and continues with the addition of a veteran goalie to stabilize the net situation. I'd hire Don Granato to coach the team. He did an excellent job as an interim coach and relates well with players. But I wouldn't fault Adams if he wanted to bring in a veteran like Rick Tocchet or Gerard Gallant or John Tortorella. By the way, even though Tortorella comes across as gruff and brash, many players appreciate his tough love. Most of time, he gets the most out of his players. Adams also needs to find another scoring winger, and at least two veteran defensemen.
This is not an easy assignment, but that's the job of the general manager. You need to make progress and the Sabres have not done that.
But I don't think Adams needs to be in a hurry to deal Eichel. Of course, he should listen to offers, because Eichel will draw a lot of interest.
I see the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins and a few other teams inquiring about him.
But the fact that many teams will be interested, even though he earns $10 million per season, is the reason why the Sabres should be hesitant to move him.
Unquestionably, there could be deals out there the Sabres will find tempting. The Kings have a handful of premium prospects, including young centers Quinton Byfield and Turcotte. The Ducks have top young prospects, like Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras.
If teams offer premium prospects, you have to listen. Sometimes there is a deal you have to take. But the Sabres should still proceed cautiously. The moment you trade a impact center like Eichel you realize how difficult it is to replace him. Everyone in Buffalo would like to still have Ryan O'Reilly. As desirable as top prospects are, their continued development is not guaranteed.
The Buffalo faithful are among the league's most devoted fan bases. Sabres followers shouldn't have to endure an extension of the rebuild. Buffalo's core group, led by Eichel, is strong enough to be in the playoff hunt.
Many teams are looking for a top center. The Sabres already have one. It would be easier to win over Eichel than replace him.
Blogger •HHOF Writer's column on the NHL • 
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