Sabres taking calls for Eichel, won't make trade unless value is there
Injured center reportedly skating again, 'hopefully he continues to progress,' GM says
"Discussions are going on, and we're having a lot of them on a lot of different players," Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams said Saturday. "And Jack in particular, if people were thinking, 'Oh, something's going to happen at the draft,' we've never looked at any sort of timeline or pressure point to say we have to do something on any player. But I think the reality is, when we feel it's the right time, whether we're talking about Jack or someone else, that we think is the right thing to do for our franchise and is going to be the best thing for the Buffalo Sabres, then we'll do it and we'll be open to it."
Adams said he spoke with Eichel's agent, Peter Fish, twice Saturday.
"I would have no problem at all if Jack Eichel is on our team when we start training camp," Adams said. "I have said this before and I'll say it again: If we are in a position that we believe will help our franchise, not just short term but for the long term in building this out, building around a core and the foundation of critical assets, then we'd be open and looking at it. If we didn't have that on the table or don't think that makes sense, then we won't do something. But, yeah, I have no problem with Jack being here."
But Fish and Eichel's other agent, Peter Donatelli, told Sportsnet they don't think that will happen.
"Our expectation is that Jack is going to be traded in the near future, and all of our discussions have been centered around that issue," Fish and Donatelli said.
Adams said Friday the Sabres captain was skating again but the GM did not know where because Eichel is not spending the offseason in Buffalo. Eichel missed the last 33 games of this season with a neck injury after he scored 18 points (two goals, 16 assists) in 21 games.
The Sabres traded forward Sam Reinhart to the Florida Panthers on Saturday for a first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and minor-league goalie
Devon Levi
.
On Friday, they traded
defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen to the Philadelphia Flyers prior to the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft. Buffalo received the No. 14 pick, which it used to select forward
Isak Rosen
, a second-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and defenseman Robert Hagg.
"It's an exciting weekend because I feel we have an amazing opportunity as an organization to take a step forward and add quality players to our organization, and quality people," Adams said.
Buffalo selected Reinhart with the No. 2 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft. He scored 295 points (134 goals, 161 assists) in 454 games, including 25 goals and 40 points, both Sabres highs, in 54 games this season.
"I'm a big believer in Sam Reinhart as a player and a person," Adams said. "I think he's an excellent hockey player, but the fact of the matter is, he wasn't going to be here past this year. He was entering into a restricted free agent
with the No. 1 pick Friday. He said he hasn't talked to the Sabres about his immediate future, if he will turn pro or return to the University of Michigan for his sophomore season.
"I think I can step in and play [in the NHL]," Power said. "I don't think the decision will be whether or not I'm ready to play, it's what is better for my development at the end of the day. I don't think there's a bad option, and it's something we have to figure out."
Adams said, "I know we're talking about the No. 1 overall pick and a player that is clearly capable of stepping right into the NHL, but you have to look at the long game even with a player at this level and say, 'What is best for him, how does he continue to get better?' … It's too early, but we're going to sit down and have those discussions."
Those discussions will likely come after a resolution on Eichel's future, be it in Buffalo or elsewhere.
"If we're in a position where we feel that there's value and we feel it's going to help our franchise, than we'll make certain decisions," Adams said. "It's the same for the way we look at all players, it's just different conversations, but that's how we're viewing it."
NHL.com independent correspondent Heather Engel contributed to this report
