Bruins continue to come up in the Jack Eichel discussion

Author Ty Anderson

October 26th, 2021 2:57 AM

The painful stalemate between the Sabres and Jack Eichel is refusing to let up.

With the 24-year-old still twisting in limbo when it comes to the medical treatment for the neck injury that kept Eichel out of action for almost all of last year and the 2021-22 season to date, it’s been made abundantly clear that Eichel wants out. It’s also clear that the Sabres are going to inevitably sell him off to the highest bidder, and that their request is a massive one despite Eichel’s injury situation.

But that hasn’t stopped a handful of teams, including the Bruins, from showing an interest, as revealed in the latest tidbit shared by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Speaking with ’32 Thoughts’ podcast co-host Jeff Marek on Marek’s radio show on The Fan 590 on Monday, Friedman was asked point blank about the Bruins and Eichel and shared that the Bruins have certainly sniffed around the Eichel situation.

“Well, I think [the Bruins] have been around there,” Friedman said. “There’s no question about that.”

Now, before we all take our pants off, the level of reported interest varied from team-to-team, and the Bruins were mentioned by Friedman along with *deep breath* the Hurricanes, Blue Jackets, Avalanche, Golden Knights, Flames, Wild, Rangers, and Ducks. (Did I catch a niner in there? Were you talkin’ trade from a walkie talkie?) Friedman even touched on Eichel going to the Kraken, though that was brought up by Marek, so you can’t fault him for entertaining the question.

In essence, we’re getting awfully close to Eichel finding himself linked to every team that does not play in Buffalo.

Still, the fact that the Bruins are even mentioned at all is interesting.

But, of course and as always, it’s more complicated than that.

Especially as it relates to the Sabres’ desired return and the B’s situation.

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  It has been previously reported that the Sabres are seeking a return equal to four first-round picks. "Your best prospects and picks" was how it was summarized earlier this summer. (And when they say four first-round picks, they don't mean your first-round picks playing pro hockey but still struggling to make your NHL lineup as a full-timer, for example.)
  
  The Sabres also seem content to take their time given what happened with a similar situation earlier this year.
  
  "Just from what I’m hearing, Buffalo’s got a big ask, right," Friedman acknowledged. "We’ve talked about how they’re really happy with how the [Rasmus] Ristolainen deal worked out for them and they felt their patience was rewarded, right. I just look at Boston’s situation and I think of Buffalo wants, and I wonder if Boston can do it.”
  
  The Ristolainen trade, by the way, saw the Flyers part with defenseman Robert Hagg, a first-round pick in 2021, and a second-round pick in 2023. Not a bad return for a defenseman coming off his lowest-producing season since 2014 and with the worst plus-minus in all of hockey since 2014 (minus-148) and by a staggering 33 minuses to the next-closest player.
  
  When Friedman wonders if the Bruins could do that, it's for good reason.
  
  The Bruins have absolutely no interest in trading their best first-round pick since 2016 (the freshly extended Charlie McAvoy), they traded their first-round picks in 2018 (the Rick Nash trade) and 2020 (the Ondrej Kase deal), their 2017 first-round pick (Urho Vaakanainen) is still in the minors, and 2019 first-round pick John Beecher has battled injuries throughout his career. It's hard to imagine the Sabres getting real jazzed about those players in exchange for Eichel. Their top prospects in the pro ranks include Jack Studnicka, Jakub Lauko, and Jeremy Swayman if you want to include him, though you can absolutely make the case that Swayman's elevated himself out of the 'prospect' discussion at this point.
  
  It's not exactly a stacked cupboard compared to the field.

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  Eichel is also on the hook at $10 million a season for the next five seasons, so it's not like the Bruins can just trade all their draft picks and bring him to Boston without moving money out.
  
  Without getting in the cap gymnastics to melt your brain down to goo, the Bruins could theoretically swing a deal for Eichel at the 2022 trade deadline without moving a core piece. But long term, you're likely talking about having to trade at least one of Charlie Coyle (full no-move clause through 2022) and/or Brandon Carlo to fit Eichel into the mix beyond this current season. That's also without getting into McAvoy's cap hit jumping to $9.5 million next year and the expiring contracts of both first liners Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak coming around the bend. Like I said, goo brain.
  
  Oh, he's also currently trying to get the OK to have a surgery no NHL player has had, so there's that too.
  
  But Eichel will continue to be linked to the Bruins for these seemingly obvious reasons...
  
  One: A North Chelmsford, Mass. native, he's a hometown boy and the Bruins love their hometown boys. Eichel himself has also talked about the possibility of playing for the Bruins. Two: Eichel has been seen with members of the Bruins countless times this summer and fall, and that goes beyond the obvious Boston University connection between Eichel and current B's defensemen Matt Grzelcyk and McAvoy. Three: He's inching closer and closer to his full no-movement clause kicking into effect, where he could essentially pull a Taylor Hall and force his way to a city of his choosing. And four: The Bruins need a long-term solution at center, especially with Bergeron in year-to-year mode.
  
  In other words, these rumors aren't going away 'til Eichel is officially off the board.
  
  And with talk of a potential grievance filing as the sides continue their staredown, that's not happening anytime soon, so buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Click here for 98.5 The Sports Hub’s complete coverage of the Bruins.

Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.

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Author Ty Anderson

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• Ty Anderson

Tags:

boston bruins,buffalo sabres,Jack Eichel