What looked to be a possible increased chance for the Sharks to acquire Jack Eichel in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres ultimately never existed. It was all predicated on San Jose being able to get out from under the remainder of Evander Kane's contract, but it has since been explained that the collective bargaining agreement prevents that.
So, there does not appear to be a possible avenue for the Sharks to acquire the All-Star center. However, it's looking increasingly likely that Eichel will end up in San Jose's division.
The Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights are the two finalists for Eichel's services, ESPN's Emily Kaplan reported Tuesday, citing multiple sources.
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"There was a lot of work done over the weekend and today I was told the trade is at the 1-yard-line, except there's still some final details they've got to figure out," Kaplan reported during the Sharks' 5-3 win over the Sabres. "I'm told that Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams is working extremely hard on this to get a trade done. However, he's also been very firm in his stance and neither Calgary nor Vegas has met him on his full demands yet."
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ESPN's Kevin Weeks reported Wednesday that the Flames' current offer consists of standout forward Matthew Tkachuk, a future first-round draft pick, a former first-round pick and two other prospects.
Kaplan added that both the Flames and Golden Knights are OK with Eichel getting the artificial disk replacement surgery that he prefers, which is very much at the crux of his fallout with Buffalo.
When healthy, Eichel is one of the best players in the NHL. It will be some time before he is able to take the ice again, but it sounds like the Sharks could be seeing him plenty in the near future.