So Eichel sits. His agents have tried to step up pressure on the Sabres, but that franchise is impervious to criticism. The Sabres have been awful for a long, long time and now they are entering another long-haul rebuild.
Fans are mad, but they’ve been mad for many years. The Pegulas have been taking high heat, but they shrug it off from their well-insulated executive suite.
If Eichel’s injury situation drags on well into the season – which seems increasingly likely – then the Sabres will lose some trade leverage. So maybe that will move general manager Kevyn Adams.
Then again, how many teams have the salary cap flexibility to make that trade without having to jettison other salaries?
Anaheim seems like a no-brainer, since Eichel is still young enough to blend into that ongoing rebuild. Maybe the New York Rangers could pull it off, since could throw an attractive forward prospect in with center Ryan Strome and build a presentable package.
The San Jose Sharks have apparently been shopping power forward Evander Kane for a while. Kane is a fantasy hockey darling, since he 22 scored goals in 56 games last season and 36 in 64 games the season before. He is a high-volume shooter who racks up lots of hits and penalty minutes for fantasy leagues that count such things.
