Buffalo Sabres: Irony of the November Jack Eichel trade
By Sion Fawkes
The Buffalo Sabres made a franchise-altering decision to trade Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights and so far it has been a Tale of Two Teams.
Former Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel debuted for the Vegas Golden Knights on February 16th, 2022. Since then, the Knights are 12-12-2, having won three of their first five games in April.
The Sabres are 11-13-3 in that same timespan, having lost six straight games to end February 2022 before turning things around in March and April. What’s even more amazing about the Sabres is that most of their competition since March 2nd have come against playoff-caliber teams.
Meanwhile, the Golden Knights have struggled against some of the league’s bottom-tier talent. Since February, the Vegas has lost to the Arizona Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Winnipeg Jets.
Buffalo Sabres-Vegas Golden Knights have eerily identical records since Jack Eichel’s debut
While Eichel and the Golden Knights have time to turn things around, it’s interesting that the Sabres have improved since moving Eichel in November. Winger Alex Tuch has become a fixture on the top scoring line, and Peyton Krebs has been serviceable on the second and third lines this season.
Since debuting for his hometown Sabres, Tuch has 35 points in 43 games played. And having averaged 18:40 of average ice time per game, he is easily on pace to log a career-high. It’s clear Tuch will become a permanent fixture on the top scoring line for the foreseeable future.
Forward Peyton Krebs has also seen his moments. He, predictably, has not been as productive as Tuch, with just 19 points in 41 appearances with the Sabres. However, he makes the most out of his opportunities with a remarkable 16.3% shooting percentage for 75 shots on goal.
As for Eichel, he has looked good for the Knights, logging 20 points in 26 contests with a 10.5 shooting percentage. However, his presence has yet to drastically improve the team, despite their better performances in April.
Overall, the Sabres have not been without their flaws since Eichel’s debut in Vegas back in February. But they more than proved they can hang with even the NHL’s best teams without him.
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It’s not often you improve as a team after trading one of your most productive players. But the Buffalo Sabres can definitely claim otherwise. And that’s the irony of the Jack Eichel trade.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)