The rumors surrounding potential Jack Eichel trades have been quiet as of late. But per one report from Nick Kyoreos, there are at least half a dozen teams that are currently interested in trying to get Eichel from the Buffalo Sabres. But there is one specific condition that other teams are looking for in any potential trade.
Eichel has made it clear he’s willing to go anywhere to facilitate a trade. One of 1/2 doz teams involved tell me a trade is doable as long as the @BuffaloSabres are willing to add “conditional” clauses around how he performs after surgery. ie .. games played, scoring etc.
— Nick Kypreos (@RealKyper) September 24, 2021
Other teams are looking for the trade to include some “conditional clauses” if they were to take on Eichel. This is not uncommon for teams to want if they are trading for a player that is coming off an injury or is still injured. It gives the trading team a little bit of a safety net if Eichel misses more games or does not perform up to his expected level when he joins a new team.
Including extra conditions to an Eichel trade might not be something that the Sabres necessarily want to do, but it may be the only way the trade gets done this season. It has been pretty obvious that the Sabres and Kevyn Adams are content playing the waiting game with Eichel. Adams is going to make sure he gets what he thinks is a fair deal.
There is no sense to rush a trade when Jack still has five years left on his contract. But with a no-move clause kicking in starting after this season, if a deal is done, it will have to be done before then.
Adding conditional clauses to a trade puts Buffalo in a rough spot. If Eichel comes back and just is not the same player he was since he has been out for so long and doesn’t meet specific goals set by his new team, that shouldn’t be on the Sabres. Trading for Eichel right now is a risk given his current health, and interested teams realize this.