On the Buffalo Sabres and Jack Eichel …
Barry Scanlon of Lowell Sun: Jack Eichel on contract extension talks.
“We’re in the midst of it. It’s between my agent and Mr. (Jason) Botterill,” he said Wednesday of Buffalo’s new general manager. “I’m just going to work hard this summer. All of that tends to take care of itself. Obviously the contract is important. But for me it’s all about the play.”
Eichel said again that he wants to be a Sabre and doesn’t want to go anywhere else.
Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports: Darren Dreger was on WGR 550 radio in Buffalo on Friday. The new contracts for Connor McDavid‘s $12.5 million and Leon Draisaitl‘s $8.5 million cap hits were discussed before moving on Jack Eichel, who is entering the final year of his deal. When asked if thinks Draisaitl’s deal will impact what Eichel gets?
“I don’t think it does,” said Dreger. “Look, it’s wishful thinking for Jason Botterill and the Buffalo Sabres to believe that they’re going to get Jack Eichel around $8.5 million. And when I say around, it’s certainly not going to be 8.5 and it won’t be less than 8.5 on an annual average salary.
“I still think that the more reasonable comp, believe it or not, is McDavid. Now, Eichel is not getting 12.5 million. So the gap is somewhere between McDavid and Draisaitl. And that’s a pretty big gap, so it’s likely in that middle. I think that the Sabres would be real lucky to get Jack signed at around 9.5 or a shade under 9.5, but there’s still a lot of heavy negotiating that needs to take place. I’m told that the discussions are ongoing and they’re amicable. There’s no hard feelings here. Both sides can recognize that there’s a level of having to dig in to balance the negotiation.
“But the Sabres recognize that he’s an iconic player. He’s a cornerstone piece for the Buffalo organization, so maybe that number creeps up closer to 10 or just over 10. But I think it’s going to be potentially closer to McDavid than it would be to Leon Draisaitl.”
Dreger believes that both the Sabres and Eichel’s camp want to get a deal done before the season starts. If they don’t get a deal done, they’ll be asked about it all the time, and Eichel doesn’t want it to become a distraction.
Eichel will get eight years, but money has been the holdup. The middle point might be $10.5 million per, but says the Sabres may not be willing to go there just yet.