The Buffalo Sabres have traded forward Jack Eichel and a 2023 third-round pick to the Vegas Golden Knights for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, a 2022 first-round pick and a 2023 second-round pick.
The 2022 first-round pick is top 10 protected according to Dreger, and no salary is retained.
The 25-year old Eichel was drafted 2nd overall in the 1st round of the 2015 draft. He carries a $10 million salary cap hit for four more years after this season
The 25-year old Tuch was drafted 18th overall in the 1st round of the 2014 draft by the Minnesota Wild. He carries a $4.75 million salary cap hit for four more years.
The 20-year old Krebs was drafted 17th overall in the 1st round of the 2019 draft by the Golden Knights. He carries an $863,333 salary cap hit for two more years.
Darren Dreger: Eichel is expected to have artificial disc replacement surgery very soon, and the recovery time can vary. They are hopeful he’ll be back on the ice in for months.
Thoughts from the media
Lance Lysowski: “I’m told Alex Tuch’s recovery from shoulder surgery is going as doctors had hoped. Procedure was done in July and recovery timeline remains the same: six months from date of surgery.”
Steve Carp: “My two concerns re: Eichel trade are: 1. Will Eichel be the player he was prior to getting hurt? 2. How does Vegas get cap compliant once everyone is healthy and able to play?”
Mike Harrington: “A word from Vegas. Big-time yep and yep. Huge risk for them with potential huge reward.”
Mike Harrington: “A note on Alex Tuch: The Syracuse-area native who has regularly worked out at Harborcenter in summers had shoulder surgery at the end of July. It’s possible he doesn’t play until after the Olympic break.”
Lance Lysowski: Peyton Krebs is good. Immediately strengthens the Sabres’ forward group. Alex Tuch had shoulder surgery in July. Projected timeline of return was six months.”
Greg Wyshynski: “Reached out to a few execs on the @BuffaloSabres return for Eichel. Common conclusion: Imagine if they had retained salary…”
Mike Harrington: “Initial reaction to reported Eichel trade, which is still pending NHL call: GMKA got a first and a top prospect. Which has been the goal all along. There’s always a lot of rumor in these situations. Hard to say at this moment what was fact and what was fiction.”
Rachel Doerrie: “The MOST important thing here by a mile is that Eichel is going to be able to have surgery. He was being held hostage through his pain and that is unacceptable. Whether you think the return is good or not, Eichel getting better is the most important thing here.”
Brian Hedger: “Nice haul for #Sabres … nice landing spot for Eichel.”
Cap Friendly: “If these are all the components of the trade then Vegas has likely put Mark Stone on LTIR to give them the space to make the deal work.”
Cap Friendly: “By our calculation Vegas currently has $5.765M available in their LTI Salary pool. Tuch being in the trade doesn’t change that amount as he’d come off both the relief and usage amount. Krebs takes away another $863K but that still leaves Vegas shy of the $10M in space they need.”
Shawn Simpson: “Eichel will get healthy and be a star for Vegas. He’s going to a team with strong leadership, and the only goal is Lord Stanley. 25 is when the light turns on for many athletes. Adams and Buffalo handled the surgery and trade as poorly as expected.”
Ryan Pike: “Alex Tuch is 25 and under contract through 2025-26. Peyton Krebs is 20 and under team control through 2026-27. From a Buffalo perspective, this makes a lot of sense.
Ryan Pike: “Compared to the rumoured #Flames offer (Tkachuk and a bunch of picks/kids), the Sabres get a couple good players for a combined 12 controllable years. Tkachuk would’ve been UFA in just two.”
Andy Graziano: “1- The Sabres got decent value for a player who refused to play for them and is sidelined four months from when he even gets the surgery. 2 – The Tkachuk stuff was either (a) him outright saying he wouldn’t commit to Buffalo or (b) bullshit from the start. ”
Eric Macramalla: “So after all that, that’s what the Sabres get? What a letdown. Sad!”
Darren Hayes: “Cancel the superfluous swap of 2023 thirds and the package ends up being less than rumoured — Krebs, Tuch, next year’s first. It does make one wonder exactly what may have been on the table in a Flames offer.”
Darren Hayes: “By the sounds of it, another silver medal for Brad Treliving in star pursuit. Too bad for hockey fans in Alberta on the whole as McDavid vs. Eichel would have made for a tremendous new subplot in the Battle of Alberta.”
Jack Eichel
Boom! The Vegas Golden Knights have acquired Jack Eichel and 3rd round draft pick 2023 from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, 1st round draft pick 2022 and 3rd round draft pick 2023. We’re so happy for Eichel especially. pic.twitter.com/yZgebhSSK0
— Andy & Rono 📊 (@HockeyStatsCZ) November 4, 2021
Alex Tuch is a decent two-way forward without any clear weaknesses pic.twitter.com/lbKV29S6ea
— Evolving-Hockey (@EvolvingHockey) November 4, 2021
Alex Tuch
Alex Tuch is better player than a lot of fans think very likely. He’s very solid two-way winger with great contract. He should play in TOP6 in Buffalo. Peyton Krebs is also huge addition for the Sabres. He’s very talented forward and still only 20 years old. pic.twitter.com/Qf5He0B55F
— Andy & Rono 📊 (@HockeyStatsCZ) November 4, 2021
Peyton Krebs