“The countdown is officially on” in Jack Eichel saga with serious trade talks going!

The ongoing Jack Eichel saga with the Buffalo Sabres might be coming to an end sooner rather than later. First the encouraging news came a few weeks ago that there was a willingness to make a move with the type of surgery Eichel is seeking. Eichel favors having artificial disk replacement surgery. The Sabres are against him having the procedure because it has never been performed on an NHL player. Since then, Eichel’s camp has met with the Sabres to discuss the surgery issue and teams have continued to inquire about trade scenarios.

On Thursday night’s edition of Insider Trading on TSN, Darren Dreger reported that the ‘countdown was on’ in the saga, which could lead to a grievance or a trade, but both camps are working are at the latter.

“The countdown is officially on. And it could be a countdown to an NHLPA grievance more than a trade, but that’s what Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams and those that represent Jack Eichel, Pat Brisson and J.P. Barry, CAA Hockey, are working with right now.

Earlier this week, trade talks heated up with the Buffalo Sabres and now they seem to have cooled down a little bit but that can change with one simple phone call. So the hope is from both sides, the player’s perspective and the Buffalo Sabres, that they do find a trade that works. Otherwise, his Player’s Association grievance is coming. If the trade does happen, Jack Eichel could be under the knife and having disk replacement surgery early next week.”

Earlier this week, insider Frank Seravalli of Daily Face-Off reported that the Vegas Golden Knights may have emerged as the favorites to land Eichel’s services.

Vegas had been a strong contender in the past for acquiring Eichel’s services. It was previously reported that first-round draft picks and a top prospects such as Peyton Krebs or Nicolas Hague needed to be part of the deal. Once healthy and ready to go, Eichel could become the bonafide No. 1 center the Golden Knights have lacked since Day 1.

Vegas needs to be careful however on what the asking return would be. Eichel is under contract through 2025-26 with a $10-million cap hit. And we still have no clue where he will play this season… On top of that, Vegas currently has $6.4 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly , although forwards Max Pacioretty and Alex Tuch are on long-term injured reserve. The Sabres reportedly aren’t interested in retaining any of Eichel’s salary in a trade.

On Friday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman added that the Sabres and Golden Knights were seriously talking trade. 

The Golden Knights might be waiting to see what happens with Mark Stone, but this could be a strong option and why Seravalli believes is back being number one contender in the Eichel sweepstakes. It’s been said in the past that the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Anaheim Ducks and Columbus Blue Jackets are also in the mix, while it sounds like Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota Wild are out.

Good news for Eichel nonetheless : the countdown is on. He has to be excited about the possibility of finally going under the knife. And who knows of leaving Buffalo!