Lehner welcomes Eichel to Vegas in a way that only he can

In case you somehow, someway missed this morning's blockbuster trade the Buffalo Sabres have traded former captain Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights along with a 3rd round pick in exchange for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, a 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick.

The Eichel trade had been speculated and reported on ad nauseam for months now after Eichel himself requested a trade from Sabres GM Kevyn Adams this past offseason. 

In an exclusive interview with Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, Eichel admits that he desire to get out of Buffalo goes back further than this past offseason though. Eichel says that he approached then newly hired GM Kevyn Adams and requested a trade if the team were going to go through another rebuild. Adams assured Eichel that his plan was to restock and rebuild the team on the fly and then quickly got to work signing star free agent Taylor Hall. We all know how that played out and how the Sabres' season in 2020 ultimately ended. Hall was traded, the Sabres were out of the playoffs again and this time around Eichel needed an offseason surgery. Oh... and the team wouldn't allow Eichel to get the surgery that he and his medical team felt was necessary. In other words, this was pretty much rock bottom for Eichel in his time with the Sabres.As fate would have it, he's now joining a team that boasts another star player who had his personal rock bottom with the Sabres. Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner has been outspoken about his struggles with addiction and its toll on his mental health and has directly implicated his time with the Sabres organization in exacerbating his personal problems. It was only after getting out of Buffalo and joining the New York Islanders that Lehner was able to turn his life around. Now, I'm not equating Lehner's struggles with addiction to Eichel's struggles leading a failing team, but it's fair to say that the two star players have not been served well by their time in Buffalo.

So, when Eichel emphatically posted a "VEGAS BABY VEGAS" post on social media to announce his elation, how did Lehner respond? In the best way possible.

Check it out:

Perfect. Never change, Panda... never change.