Eichel traded to Golden Knights by Sabres for Tuch, Krebs, draft picks

The Sabres received forwards Peyton Krebs, Alex Tuch, a top 10 protected first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft for the 24-year-old center who has five years remaining on an eight-year, $80 million contract ($10 million average annual value) he signed with Buffalo on Oct. 3, 2017. A third-round pick in 2023 draft was sent to the Golden Knights.

Eichel was the subject of trade rumors in part because of a disagreement with the Sabres on how to treat a herniated disk in his neck, which kept him out the final 33 games last season. He was stripped of Buffalo’s captaincy Sept. 23 after he failed his physical at training camp and was placed on injured reserve. He has expressed interest in an artificial disk replacement surgery, but the Sabres have said their doctors aren’t comfortable with a procedure that has not been performed on an NHL player and preferred an approach of rest and rehabilitation.

[RELATED: 2021-22 NHL Trade Tracker | Fantasy spin: Eichel trade on Golden Knights, Sabres]

“I would say I’ve been a bit upset about the way that things have been handled since I’ve been hurt,” Eichel said May 10, two days after the Sabres concluded last season. “I’d be lying to say that things have moved smoothly since my injury. So yeah, I think that there’s been a bit of a disconnect from the organization a bit and myself. It’s been tough at times.

“But right now, for me, I think the most important thing is just trying to get healthy and figure out a way to be available to play hockey next year, wherever that might be.”

Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams acknowledged at the start of camp that Eichel needs surgery but said that the sides still disagreed on what the procedure should be. He said Eichel declined a fusion and the Sabres do not want him to have the disk replacement.

“At this point, Jack is not willing to move forward with what our doctors are suggesting is the fusion surgery,” Adams said. “So we’re going to continue to work toward solutions. … What I can tell you is we have absolute trust in our doctors. They are the medical experts. They’ve been consistent since Day One. As I mentioned, first and foremost the health of Jack as a person, not the hockey player. Secondly, how do we get through a process where you’re hoping to avoid surgery and getting a player back on the ice?

Selected by Buffalo with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, Eichel has scored 355 points (139 goals, 216 assists) in 375 NHL games. He scored at least 24 goals in each of his first five NHL seasons, including a career-high 36 in 2019-20.

“Jack’s one of the best players in the world,” Adams said. “And that’s why I say having him healthy playing is what we all want. So we’ll continue to look at every possibility of how we get there. And then if there’s an opportunity to do something that we think’s right for a franchise, we’ll do it.”

The Sabres (5-3-1) have lost two in a row after a 5-1-1 start and visit the Seattle Kraken on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; ROOT-NW, MSG-B, ESPN+, NHL LIVE). They were last in the NHL standings last season and missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for an NHL-record tying 10th straight season. Buffalo lost 18 straight games (0-15-3) from Feb. 23-March 29, the final 11 without Eichel.

Tuch hasn’t played this season after the 25-year-old had shoulder surgery in July and was expected to need six months to recover. The first-round pick (No. 18) by the Minnesota Wild in the 2014 NHL Draft has scored 139 points (61 goals, 78 assists) in 255 regular-season games for the Wild and Golden Knights, and 33 points (19 goals, 14 assists) in 66 postseason games.

Krebs is without a point in nine games with the Golden Knights this season. The No. 17 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft has played for Vegas, Henderson of the American Hockey League and Winnipeg in the Western Hockey League the past three seasons. The 20-year-old scored 43 points (13 goals, 30 assists) in 24 games for Winnipeg last season.

The Golden Knights (4-5-0) continue a four-game road trip at the Ottawa Senators on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS2, ATTSN-RM, ESPN+, NHL LIVE). They are led by center Chandler Stephenson‘s nine points and without injured forwards William Karlsson (broken foot), Mark Stone (lower body), Max Pacioretty (lower body) and Nolan Patrick (upper body), and defenseman Zach Whitecloud (upper body).

If Vegas selects in the top 10 in the 2022 draft, the first-round pick in the 2022 draft becomes an unprotected first-round pick in 2023 and the second-round picks in 2023 moves to the 2024 NHL Draft. The third-round pick from Buffalo would then move to the 2024 draft.