Three-team trade pushed for Jack Eichel

It has been months of speculation over potential trade destinations for Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel and over the past few days, it looked like the Vegas Golden Knights were the frontrunners, closer than ever to pulling the trigger.

On Friday, Elliotte Friedman revealed on the Jeff Marek Show on Sportsnet that discussions between the Sabres and the Vegas Golden Knights had recently heated up.

The ball had started rolling more and more when it was reported 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 and it is believed that teams interested in making a trade for Eichel have agreed on surgery.

However, Friedman revealed a huge issue in the way of the Golden Knights. If the Sabres aren’t going to retain any portion of Eichel’s salary, they’ll need to find a third team to help facilitate the deal. That might not be easy as you’d be asking that third team to absorb part of Eichel’s cap hit for the next five years.

Friedman even wondered out loud what would be worth for a third team to enter the trade pushed by Vegas - he mentioned here the Arizona Coyotes. For sure, a three-team trade could take place more easily if Eichel only had a year or two left on his contract. But the Golden Knights would be asking a club to pick up part of his $10 million annual cap hit for five years - that’s a whole lot! You have to believe that’s going to require more than just a first-round pick or a top prospect. Maybe a young NHL ready player would need to be placed in the mix as sweetener… 

You have to wonder if this three-team transaction can take place… 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. To make matters worse for Golden Knights, they are also without Mark Stone and William Karlsson for some time. They need immediate help and Eichel won’t provide that, while they would be over the cap once everyone is healthy…

Any team interested in getting into this potential three-way trade?