Confirmed with Link: [BUF/VGK] Jack Eichel & 3rd-2023(BUF) FOR Peyton Krebs, Alex Tuch, 1st-2022(VGK) & 2nd-2023(VGK)

[TheMistyStranger]

You should read some of the threads again. There were people who genuinely thought Zegras+Drysdale+30V+another R1 was a realistic ask.

There were (maybe still are) people out there who think we lost the deal big time. Although once the deal is done - a percentage will have taken the tinted glasses off & see the situation more for what it is.

I don't really care about that - my initial response was you calling Adams a fool for asking for a lot, and that's stupid.

 

[Chainshot]

I think Dadonov is more likely the odd man out, especially if they are trying to make a cup run with how Smith is playing this year.

It would be a surprise if his final destination would be Buffalo since Dadonov has a 10-team NTC in his current deal.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Maybe we can pick up salary somewhere else and trade them Boychuk. They will LTIR themselves out of cap trouble.

You do not trade that Sabres legend!

 

[Rowley Birkin]

Well you are assuming it’s true and then also assuming it drove away Anaheim or prolonged the negotiations.

No one knows what happened

If this ask is true - it's blindingly obvious what happened.

 

[Rowley Birkin]

I don't really care about that - my initial response was you calling Adams a fool for asking for a lot, and that's stupid.

There's asking for a lot, then there's asking for so much that nobody will take you seriously.

 

[TheMistyStranger]

There's asking for a lot, then there's asking for so much that nobody will take you seriously.

But clearly people did take him seriously, because there were talks that led to a trade?

 

[Rastin]

I agree with you that Smith has good value which is why I'm speculating that it's a handshake deal as part of the Eichel deal and not a standalone deal.

Reilly Smith is worth way more than that. They could possibly get a R1 for him at the TDL. Certainly a R2 at minimum.

I do wonder how they will manage it - they are basically going to have to lose a good player for futures.

 

[Jacob582]

But clearly people did take him seriously, because there were talks that led to a trade?

Maybe he didn't do the trade. I think it was all Pat Brisson.

 

[member 334057]

It would be a surprise if his final destination would be Buffalo since Dadonov has a 10-team NTC in his current deal.

Yea I wasn't thinking he'd be coming to the Sabres, just feels like the player who makes the most sense to try and deal. Frees up 5 mil in space each of the next 2 years. With Smith being a UFA after this season that would give them 10 mil off the books next season instead of 5 if they dealt Smith, and they keep the better player for a playoff run this season.

 

[Djp]

Zegras & Drysdale had huge value before this season. Zegras was seen by many as the best player in the world not currently in the NHL with Drysdale not far behind. Their success is not unexpected in the sense their value has suddenly increased. That logic might be fairly applied to a guy like Devon Levi - but not here.

And why would Adams think Murray is an idiot. The apparently underqualified rookie GM does not & should not have that mindset. If anything - it would be the other way round where the experienced veteran thinks he might be able to fool the new guy...

Murray though Adams was an idiot and was hoping the ask was a 1st and middling prospects before the 2020 draft.

Adams responded and he hung up.

 

[Zach716]

If someone is unrealistic or delusional - you walk away. Which is exactly what Anaheim likely did in response to this.

Except for the fact that Anaheim had been rumored for months to be one of the leading candidates, so they didn't simply walk away if infact Friedman's "report" is even true. This dude does the League and other GM's bidding all the time.

Seems like an easy leak from Anaheim to explain why Eichel ended up on another team in their division.

That's my best guess here. Make Anaheim fans feel good about not being able to get a deal done by instead of being sad, they now get to say "oh thank god that never happened".

 

[Rowley Birkin]

But clearly people did take him seriously, because there were talks that led to a trade?

Clearly Murray/Anaheim didn't. Which to be fair is no big deal since i didn't think they made most sense as a trade partner.

And the timing of the trade was interesting to say the least , based on Eichel's upcoming interview with Friedman that night . So i think the influence of a guy like Brisson could be important to getting it over the line from both sides.

Credit to Adams for getting a good deal in the end - but reports like this reported Anaheim ask just make him look naive or stupid IMO.

 

[TehDoak]

Honestly, in hearing what he wanted from Anaheim, during the summer, it seems Adams simply set a high price and hoped someone would meet it, nobody did. Given Eichel's agents outburst at the onset of UFA market opening, it sounded like he set the expectation with Eichel's camp it'd be done this summer and when that wasn't going to become a reality, Eichel's agent was pissed.

There was then a 'mediation' of sorts between the NHL, Eichel's rep, NHLPA, and the Sabres. Something happened there that pissed Eichel off to the the point he changed agents.

I think that change was really started the momentum that led to the actual deal getting done. It seemed Brisson was proactive in getting the medical info out and even got medical imaging of their own they could release to teams without the Sabres permission. He went out looking to create a market for his client that had seemingly collapsed.

I do wonder how much pressure was put on with the pending interview with Friedman actually put on. Given that it went from radio silence to ESPN personalities suddenly having accurate insider info (and some clear misinformation) and the fact the deal was done hours before the interview took place, I have to think Eichel was going to lay out a pretty damning account of how the Sabres handled the situation the Sabres ownership/front office didn't want anything to do with it.

 

[Chainshot]

Honestly, in hearing what he wanted from Anaheim, during the summer, it seems Adams simply set a high price and hoped someone would meet it, nobody did. Given Eichel's agents outburst at the onset of UFA market opening, it sounded like he set the expectation with Eichel's camp it'd be done this summer and when that wasn't going to become a reality, Eichel's agent was pissed.

There was then a 'mediation' of sorts between the NHL, Eichel's rep, NHLPA, and the Sabres. Something happened there that pissed Eichel off to the the point he changed agents.

I think that change was really started the momentum that led to the actual deal getting done. It seemed Brisson was proactive in getting the medical info out and even got medical imaging of their own they could release to teams without the Sabres permission. He went out looking to create a market for his client that had seemingly collapsed.

I do wonder how much pressure was put on with the pending interview with Friedman actually put on. Given that it went from radio silence to ESPN personalities suddenly having accurate insider info (and some clear misinformation) and the fact the deal was done hours before the interview took place, I have to think Eichel was going to lay out a pretty damning account of how the Sabres handled the situation the Sabres ownership/front office didn't want anything to do with it.

Fish got fired after he got caught lying, an act that made his client less desirable to acquire. Moving to Brisson was one of the smartest things Eichel could do but it also had the benefit of moving trade talks forward for the Sabres.

Buffalo did not block Brisson from putting information out about the medical opinions Eichel had received, so to frame it as getting around them as an obstruction seems disingenuous.

As for the interview thing, that's been a point some have latched onto for some time that regardless of having a thousand holes poked in it keeps resurfacing. And it keeps making me laugh to think people actually think a possible interview would be leverage in getting a deal done when indications were already afoot that things were moving forward the week prior.

 

[tsujimoto74]

Seems like an easy leak from Anaheim to explain why Eichel ended up on another team in their division.

Exactly this. Think about: (a) who this leak benefits and (b) where all of the other Eichel "leaks" have come from (not the Sabres), and I think it's pretty obvious what happened here.

 

[Chainshot]

Exactly this. Think about: (a) who this leak benefits and (b) where all of the other Eichel "leaks" have come from (not the Sabres), and I think it's pretty obvious what happened here.

Is Bob Murray looking to massage his image a bit after getting canned?

 

[TehDoak]

Fish got fired after he got caught lying, an act that made his client less desirable to acquire. Moving to Brisson was one of the smartest things Eichel could do but it also had the benefit of moving trade talks forward for the Sabres.

Buffalo did not block Brisson from putting information out about the medical opinions Eichel had received, so to frame it as getting around them as an obstruction seems disingenuous.

As for the interview thing, that's been a point some have latched onto for some time that regardless of having a thousand holes poked in it keeps resurfacing. And it keeps making me laugh to think people actually think a possible interview would be leverage in getting a deal done when indications were already afoot that things were moving forward the week prior.

It's hard to not think it the interview had some effect:

1) We went from basically just speculation on the Eichel deal to legit insider leaks in the week leading up to the trade
2) Eichel himself said that the interview would be 'much different' if he hadn't gotten traded.
3) Hours before the trade, someone leaks to Weekes about Calgary's trade package.
4) The fact that the trade happened in the middle of the night hours before the interview happened.

Obviously we will never know the full story behind the Eichel trade, but it's fair to say that the interview represented some sort of deadline for the Sabres ownership/management group. There are no coincidences here, and a trade that took months to get to gets finalized hours before Eichel is sitting down in front of cameras? Even if the actual effect of the interview was minimal. The timing of the deal and the timing of the interview tell us they are somewhat connected, even if the degree which it effected it is up for debate

When we see the initial ask (Elite prospect, very good prospect, top 5 draft pick, and another 1st rounder) vs the reality of what Adams accepted (very Good prospect, Middle 6 NHL winger, a late 1st round pick, and a swap of a late 2nd/early 3rd), the Sabres were not content to simply wait out for their 'ideal' deal anymore. Obviously them taking that step to accept less than their asking price can't be put on the interview, it was the end of a very long negotiation between several teams over several months. However, it really seems the potential embarrassment of being dragged in the media by Eichel played a role in pushing the deal across the finish line.

 

[Chainshot]

It's hard to not think it the interview had some effect:

1) We went from basically just speculation on the Eichel deal to legit insider leaks in the week leading up to the trade
2) Eichel himself said that the interview would be 'much different' if he hadn't gotten traded.
3) Hours before the trade, someone leaks to Weekes about Calgary's trade package.
4) The fact that the trade happened in the middle of the night hours before the interview happened.

Obviously we will never know the full story behind the Eichel trade, but it's fair to say that the interview represented some sort of deadline for the Sabres ownership/management group. There are no coincidences here, and a trade that took months to get to gets finalized hours before Eichel is sitting down in front of cameras? Even if the actual effect of the interview was minimal. The timing of the deal and the timing of the interview tell us they are somewhat connected, even if the degree which it effected it is up for debate

When we see the initial ask (Elite prospect, very good prospect, top 5 draft pick, and another 1st rounder) vs the reality of what Adams accepted (very Good prospect, Middle 6 NHL winger, a late 1st round pick, and a swap of a late 2nd/early 3rd), the Sabres were not content to simply wait out for their 'ideal' deal anymore. Obviously them taking that step to accept less than their asking price can't be put on the interview, it was the end of a very long negotiation between several teams over several months. However, it really seems the potential embarrassment of being dragged in the media by Eichel played a role in pushing the deal across the finish line.

I don't see it, no matter how much you push this.

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

This 'revelation' is click bait. Nothing more.

 

[dasaybz]

Adams was a fool for even asking for that with a straight face.

Fortunately for him - he was able to get a sensible deal done which could end up being a win-win.

I think this clearly shows that Adams was indeed brought down a peg or two & did not hold out for his desired return like some had stated at the time of the trade. He initially made a huge misjudgement but was smart enough to reassess & compromise.

He'd be a fool if he didn't ask for this with a straight face.

 

[elchud]

I think the interview either mattered some, or didn't matter at all. Im skeptical of anyone with a strong feeling either way.

I do like that there will always be hush-hush on this one, like the LaFontaine situation. Pegula is nothing if not a businessman.

Edit to add, the case for interview-matters I think needs to factor in that Pegula has more influence in team matters than most, if not all of us, would like.

 

[Djp]

It's hard to not think it the interview had some effect:

1) We went from basically just speculation on the Eichel deal to legit insider leaks in the week leading up to the trade
2) Eichel himself said that the interview would be 'much different' if he hadn't gotten traded.
3) Hours before the trade, someone leaks to Weekes about Calgary's trade package.
4) The fact that the trade happened in the middle of the night hours before the interview happened.

Obviously we will never know the full story behind the Eichel trade, but it's fair to say that the interview represented some sort of deadline for the Sabres ownership/management group. There are no coincidences here, and a trade that took months to get to gets finalized hours before Eichel is sitting down in front of cameras? Even if the actual effect of the interview was minimal. The timing of the deal and the timing of the interview tell us they are somewhat connected, even if the degree which it effected it is up for debate

When we see the initial ask (Elite prospect, very good prospect, top 5 draft pick, and another 1st rounder) vs the reality of what Adams accepted (very Good prospect, Middle 6 NHL winger, a late 1st round pick, and a swap of a late 2nd/early 3rd), the Sabres were not content to simply wait out for their 'ideal' deal anymore. Obviously them taking that step to accept less than their asking price can't be put on the interview, it was the end of a very long negotiation between several teams over several months. However, it really seems the potential embarrassment of being dragged in the media by Eichel played a role in pushing the deal across the finish line.

Are you hoping fir a 30 for30 on espn on the conspiracy behind the trade?

it delayed till in the season because of cap compliance rules.

 

[Jacob582]

There was a strong rumor last year that Elvenes was a player VGK wanted to include in an Eichel trade.

Just makes me think that even though we didn't get the number of assets back that we wanted, we got players/picks that the other team didn't want to part with.

 

[BG82]

Tuch looks excited to be a core member of this team, Krebs look happy to be here and contributing, we have some quality draft equity to play with and a slew of potential game changing prospects on the cusp

In sick of hearing about Eichel and the conspiracies. I actually think we came out really good from the deal.

We got the cancer out and I'm seeing a team rallying right in front of our eyes playing with alot of heart. Prop to Adams for changing the culture this quick

 

[Jacob582]

. I actually think we came out really good from the deal.

That's - in part - what I'm saying. We got players we wanted, not settling for players that the other team wanted to give.

Another example is that Anaheim might have possibly wanted Henrique and Comtois in the trade. Henrique is having an okay season - but he is a cap dump. Comtois was in the dog house and healthy scratch at the beginning of the season.