NHL Atlantic

Buffalo Sabres star Jack Eichel could be on the move this offseason, and TSN's Darren Dreger has identified three teams that are "in the mix" to land the 24-year-old.

In an appearance Friday on WGR 550, Dreger said the Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings are among potential landing spots for the forward. The Sabres captain said last month that "there's been a bit of a disconnect" between him and the organization that drafted him at No. 2 overall in 2015. 

Eichel appeared in 21 games in 2021, scoring two goals and logging 16 assists before a herniated disk in his neck ended his season prematurely. 

According to Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post, Eichel wanted to have surgery to repair his neck injury—which he suffered on the ice on March 7—but the Sabres did not support that decision. 

"I have a lot of thinking to do in this offseason," he said in May. "I think that there’s a lot that I have to consider. But for now, obviously, I’m here." 

The center has five years and $50 million remaining on his current contract, with a no-trade clause in effect in 2022. 

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reported Monday that the Sabres were having conversations with other teams and those negotiations were "getting more intense and serious."

In addition to Los Angeles, Anaheim and Columbus, LeBrun tabbed the Minnesota Wild, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers as possible destinations, noting that he thinks general manager Kevyn Adams is hoping to land a first-round pick in this year's draft in exchange for Eichel. 

With the draft coming up on July 23, that puts any interested team on the clock, something that was reflected when WGR 550's Jeremy White said Thursday that he expected a move to be made within "days."

Montreal Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme is isolating from the team after testing positive for COVID-19 on Friday.

All other COVID-19 testing done with players, coaches and hockey staff on Thursday and Friday returned negative.

The Canadiens are scheduled to play Game 3 of their Stanley Cup semifinal series against the Vegas Golden Knights in Montreal on Friday night. 

The teams are tied 1-1 in the series. 

Ducharme, who was promoted to his current role in February after Claude Julien was fired, will undergo more tests before the game. Everything could still work out for him before puck drop—just ask the guys on the other side of the ice.

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar was pulled from morning skate before Game 6 of the series against the Golden Knights because of a COVID-19 testing irregularity but was cleared to coach in the game. 

The 48-year-old Ducharme, who led the Canadiens to fourth place in the North Division and engineered upsets over the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets this postseason, is not considered fully vaccinated against the virus as he is not two weeks from the date of his second vaccine.

He received his second dose on June 9, according to the Associated Press. 

Trade talk surrounding Buffalo Sabres superstar center Jack Eichel is reportedly starting to heat up.

According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, negotiations between the Sabres and teams interested in acquiring Eichel are getting "more intense and serious."

LeBrun theorized that if the Sabres are going to move Eichel this offseason, general manager Kevyn Adams would like to get a first-round pick in the 2021 NHL draft as part of the package, meaning a deal would have to be struck by July 23, the first night of the draft.

After putting up the best numbers of his career in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, hopes were high for Eichel entering the 2020-21 campaign, especially after Buffalo signed winger Taylor Hall in free agency.

The signing didn't work out, as Hall (19 points in 37 games) was traded to the Boston Bruins before the deadline, and Eichel was limited to only 21 games because of injuries.

The 24-year-old didn't look like himself even when he did play, though, finishing with only two goals and 16 assists for 18 points, while posting a disappointing minus-nine rating after being a plus-five the previous year.

The team captain was on the shelf with a herniated disk in his neck, and he recently admitted to the media that he wasn't a fan of the way the Sabres handled his treatment.

Last month, Eichel told reporters the following regarding his injury status, and he seemed to suggest he was open to a trade as well: "There's been a bit of a disconnect from the organization a bit and myself. It's been tough at times. Right now, I think for me the most important thing is just trying to get healthy and figure out a way to be available to play hockey next year wherever that might be."

Frustration had seemingly been mounting even before the injury situation, as the Sabres have not reached the playoffs during Eichel's six-year NHL career. Their last postseason berth was in 2011.

The Sabres finished with the worst record in the NHL this season, which helped them land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft. They also fired head coach Ralph Krueger during the season.

Those factors give the Sabres a chance to have a fresh start, and trading Eichel could contribute to it, even though it would mean Buffalo losing its best player.

Eichel, who signed an eight-year, $80 million contract extension prior to the 2018-19 season, should be highly desirable on the trade market since he is a young, productive player under contract for five more seasons.

Taking the injury-riddled 2020-21 season out of the equation, Eichel was a player on the rise with 28 goals and 54 assists for a career-high 82 points over 77 games in 2018-19. He followed up with a career-high 36 goals to go along with 42 assists for 78 points in 68 games the next season.

Eichel, who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft after the Edmonton Oilers took Connor McDavid first overall, has all the tools needed to be one of the top players in the NHL and a perennial Hart Trophy candidate.

Because of that, the Sabres should be able to secure a massive package of picks, prospects and players should they make the difficult decision to part with him.

LeBrun reported that the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers are perhaps the best fits for Eichel.

The Ducks (third), Blue Jackets (fifth) and Kings (eighth) are picking high in the draft, which could make them the most desirable trade partners for the Sabres.

Should Buffalo take defenseman Owen Power with the No. 1 overall pick and then use one of the aforementioned picks from an Eichel trade on one of the top forwards in the draft, the Sabres will have a lot of talented pieces in place for a proper rebuild, which may be the only way to get the floundering franchise back on track.

Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask announced Friday he's planning to undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip that'll keep him sidelined until January or February.

Rask, an impending unrestricted free agent, also said he doesn't expect to leave Boston.

"I'm not going to play for anybody else but the Bruins," the 34-year-old told reporters. "This is our home. We have three kids with friends in school. I don't see any reason to go anywhere else at this point in my career."

The Finn split playing time with Jaroslav Halak and Jeremy Swayman during the regular season, but he returned to a full-time starting role for the playoffs. He played well, posting a 2.36 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in 11 starts.

Boston advanced past the Washington Capitals in five games during the first round, but it was eliminated from Stanley Cup contention Wednesday with a six-game series loss to the New York Islanders.

While Rask hopes to return next season, the Bruins could be forced to make some tough decisions in the offseason.

The team must account for 11 unrestricted free agents, including Rask, Halak, David Krejci, Taylor Hall and Mike Reilly, and eight restricted free agents, led by Ondrej Kase, Nick Ritchie and Brandon Carlo. Boston also needs to keep in mind Charlie McAvoy will be in line for a lucrative extension after next season.

So whether bringing back Rask, who counted $7 million against the salary cap in 2020-21, will fit in the team's plans is unclear. The 22-year-old Swayman, a Hobey Baker Award finalist last year with Maine, posted a .945 save percentage in 10 games during the regular season and will count a team-friendly $925,000 against the cap through 2022-23.

Rask could need to take a sizable pay cut to remain in Boston, especially if the front office is confident Swayman's strong play will continue.

Rask, who ranked 13th in Money Puck's goals saved above expected during the regular season, remains one of the NHL's most reliable goalies, but Swayman's emergence (he ranked 10th in those rankings) and the high number of players needing new contracts complicates the veteran's outlook.

The 2014 Vezina Trophy winner has spent his entire 14-year NHL career with the Bruins.

If it seems like we can't get through an NHL postseason without a coach blasting the officiating, it's because we can't. 

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are one of the most exciting postseason events in sports. The speed, the skill, the big hits, the energy and the intensity make for an absolutely electric atmosphere. Many of the game's best players are on display. 

And they're being overshadowed by the guys in stripes. 

Following a loss to the New York Islanders in Game 5 of their East Division Championship series Monday night, Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy excoriated the officiating. Tuesday afternoon, the NHL fined him $25,000 for his criticism. 

"This is my take on it: We're playing a team that has a very well-respected management and coaching staff. They won a Stanley Cup (with the Washington Capitals). But I think they sell a narrative over there that it's more like the New York Saints, not the New York Islanders," Cassidy said following Boston's 5-4 loss at TD Garden. The Islanders took a 3-2 series lead. "They play hard and they play the right way, but I feel we're the same way. And the exact calls that get called on us do not get called on them, and I don't know why."

Cassidy specifically called out some missed high-sticking calls. Chris Wagner was whistled for a high stick, one of four Bruins' penalties. The Islanders took two. But more importantly, they scored on three of four power play opportunities, which was the difference in the game. 

"You've got continuous high sticks every game, the exact same high sticks," Cassidy said. "Maybe we need to sell them more, flop, but that's not us. You just hope they'd see them."

There is a lot to unpack here.

First of all, the "New York Saints" comment was interesting for a few years. Some thought Cassidy inferred that the Islanders were getting a New York City advantage. That notion doesn't really hold up. The Islanders play in Uniondale, on Long Island, with their failed stint in Brooklyn at the Barclay's Center well behind them. Yes, Long Island is in the New York media market, but the fanbase is considerably smaller, so this isn't a team that's getting big-city favoritism. 

If Cassidy is saying they're being favored for being a disciplined team, then that's another issue, because the Bruins have taken 15 penalties in the series and the Islanders only 11, but this fits the same trend of the regular season. The Islanders wracked up 370 penalty minutes in the regular season, which was the third-least in the league. Boston's 533 regular-season penalty minutes were the fifth-most. Clearly, the Islanders are a disciplined team. 

However, Cassidy isn't wrong to say the officiating was lopsided. 

The calls ranged from ticky-tack to downright unfair. You could make the argument that Sean Kuraly's slash while trying to defend Noah Dobson was a little soft. Matt Grzelcyk shoved Leo Komarov with a somewhat routine stick to the back and sat for a crosscheck. It's the type of thing that happens tons of times each game, but somehow Grzelcyk was penalized for it.

But the officiating has been bad in other games this spring, and it feels like it's the third-straight year we've been talking about how the officiating changed the outcome on the ice. Maybe it's the fourth, or even the fifth. It's tough to keep track right now. 

Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers didn't draw a single penalty in the Edmonton Oilers' four-game series against the Winnipeg Jets. He's the best player in the game, so of course his defenders are going to hacking and whacking at him. He was held to just four points. You don't hold a world-class center like McDavid to only a handful of points without bodying up and taking some defensive liberties. 

Rachel Doerrie, a former New Jersey Devils staffer and Ontario Hockey League scout, helped The Athletic track some of the officiating. After rewatching every one of McDavid's shifts she found 30 missed calls. 

Also in the first round, Tampa Bay Lighting coach Jon Cooper was justifiably angry after star winger Nikita Kucherov was the recipient of a dangerous slash to the back of the knee off the puck by Florida Panthers forward Anthony Duclair. It was an egregious non-call, made all the more confusing by the fact that Kucherov himself had received a penalty for being shoved into goalie Sergei Bobrovsky earlier in this series. 

Another first-round comment this year from St. Louis Blues coach Craig Berube: "It's terrible. It's so one-sided, it's not even funny."

Coaches are so fed up they're willing to speak pretty freely about it, and management seems happy to pay the price. Last year, Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour ripped the refs in the bubble series against the Bruins, calling the league a "joke." He was fined $25,000 and the team Tweeted out an image of the check signed by owner Tom Dundon. 

And going back two years ago in 2019, Berube and Cassidy expressed their displeasure of the officiating of the Stanley Cup Final. 

The Final round. The championship round was in danger of being determined not by the play on the ice, but by the referees. Minor changes to officiating and replay review were made after that series, but clearly it wasn't enough because now the issue has hit a fever pitch. 

This problem has been discussed ad nauseam: The game has sped up on the officials, and they quite literally cannot get out of the way and can't see everything. They are doing the best they can, but changes need to be made in order to put them in positions to succeed. 

There is a mandate from the league to manage the game instead of officiating by the book. As a result, it's open season on the stars of the game. No one buys tickets to see Fourth-Line Johnny take out Sidney Crosby with a vicious hit. They go to see Crosby score on the power play. 

It's a stain on the game that the league would rather not have pointed out. It's why coaches have been continually fined for critical comments. It's embarrassing. And the fines seem to have the opposite of the intended effect by drawing more attention to the problem instead of encouraging coaches to shut up. 

Cassidy's rant has merit. So did Cooper's, Berube's and Brind'Amour's last season. Nothing can be fixed until the NHL admits to having a problem, but until they do finally recognize it, the game remains a little less safe and a lot more unfair. 

Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy had some thoughts on the officiating after Monday night's Game 5 loss to the New York Islanders, who won 5-4 and took a 3-2 series lead.

After the Islanders used three power-play goals to boost their chances over Boston, Cassidy told reporters the Islanders "sell a narrative" that allows them to get more whistles than their opponents:

The Islanders had four power-play opportunities Monday, compared to two for Boston.

Cassidy shared a similar sentiment after Game 4, when the Bruins fell 4-1.

“I think the whole playoffs we haven’t gotten very many calls to put us on the power play,” Cassidy told reporters Saturday.

But New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz didn't have an explanation for the comments when he was asked about Cassidy's frustration after his team's second consecutive victory: 

The discourse was particularly reminiscent of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, when St. Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube questioned the calls going against his team.

The Islanders have incurred 78 penalty minutes throughout the postseason, and they've drawn 42 penalties in 11 games played. That's just one more than the Bruins have had go their way, but Boston has 100 penalty minutes in their 10 postseason games.

Of those, 44 minutes have come in five games against the Islanders for an average of 3.58 penalties taken per 60 minutes.

During the regular season, the Islanders drew an average of 2.86 penalties per 60 minutes, ranking third-lowest in the league. Conversely, the Bruins drew an average of 3.54 penalties per game, ranking 10th.

With the extra usage the Bruins' penalty kill is getting, it's suffering. During the regular season, the team finished off penalties at a rate of 86.0 percent, trailing just the Vegas Golden Knights for the best rate in the league.

In the postseason, they're coming out successful on just 75 percent of calls.

With the series on the line in Wednesday's Game 6, the Bruins will have to be better when they're short-handed in order to save their season.

The Buffalo Sabres were an absolute dumpster fire this season. They have a chance to put out that fire with the first overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft.

The Sabres were awarded the top pick in the upcoming draft Wednesday night when the lottery set the draft order. Buffalo, the worst team in the league in 2021 with a 15-34-7 record, had the best chance to receive the first overall pick at 16.6 percent.

But as for their chances to keep star center Jack Eichel? Those still seem slim. This top pick could force the Sabres into rebuild mode, and the club might be better off trading him and bringing in some significant assets that could help get the moribund franchise back on track.

This year's draft could produce another star in the same mold as Eichel, but it's unlikely. This is a strange draft; it's not that it's lacking talent, but there is no consensus No. 1 pick. There probably isn't a game-changing player who could make an immediate impact for a team like Buffalo.

Whether it's defenseman Owen Power, his Michigan teammate Matty Beniers or Swedish winger William Eklund, most of the players in the 2021 draft class are going to need more time to develop before they're ready to play in the NHL.

"We will not rush players," general manager Kevyn Adams said on a Zoom call with the media following the lottery announcement. "If we think a player is absolutely ready to step in [to the NHL] and help our team, then we will use him. If not, then we have no problem—whether it's the No. 1 pick or someone later in the draft—we have no problem saying, 'OK, let's just slow it down and do what's right.'"

Beyond just the assets the Sabres would receive for the 24-year-old center, trading Eichel would allow the organization to start over with a blank slate and a blank check if they can get all—or at least some—of the $50 million left on Eichel's contract off the books.

There is too much bad blood between Eichel and the Sabres to continue this relationship. Last season, the two parties were arguing whether Eichel should get surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck.

The feud became public when Adams told reporters Eichel and his camp wanted a surgery that has never been performed on an NHL player and the team's doctors were not comfortable with that. Eichel said there was a "disconnect" between him and the club.

The club asked him to rest and rehab for 12 weeks, and he's about in that 12-week range. Adams expects to have more information soon, but the next steps forward are still unclear.

Eichel and the Sabres appear to still be at odds with one another, with Adams saying in his Zoom call with reporters that they still do not want Eichel to have the procedure.

Center Sam Reinhart also wants out of Buffalo, saying he didn't want to go through another rebuild in his age-26 season.

To be fair, it's not another rebuild. It's still the same rebuild that featured Reinhart and Eichel as part of the very foundation of the franchise. Reinhart was drafted second overall in 2014, and Eichel was the second pick in the 2015 draft. They were the result of tanking, and they were supposed to keep the Sabres out of the lottery and get them to the playoffs.

Instead, Buffalo won the lottery again in 2018. They chose defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who made great strides in his development this season, finally showing some signs of progress.

But there has been nearly no other progress made in this rebuild over the past five years, so it's time to let go of Eichel and Reinhart—a pending restricted free agent—and start over again.

Start stockpiling picks for 2022 and 2023, when the draft classes are expected to be deeper and more impactful. Hang on to Dahlin and team him with Power. Or maybe draft Beniers, a center, to replace Reinhart.

The best player available is Power. His size, skating and defensive acumen separate him from the rest. Adams said he's inclined to take the best player available, but above all he wants a passionate group on the ice that can grow together.

"To me, this is about putting together a group of together that really care about each other, that really, truly love this organization, that love that jersey, that love this city," Adams said. "I know I've said this now for a year is that there has to be a connectivity to this organization, between our team that goes on the ice and our fanbase."

Yet the "disconnect" remains.

As painful as it is to part with a player of Eichel's caliber and to get rid of someone who once represented hope for the future of the franchise, the Sabres will be better off in the future without Eichel. And Eichel will be better off elsewhere.

Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares will not be available for Game 7 Monday against the Montreal Canadiens, per Dave McCarthy of NHL.com. 

The center hasn't played since Game 1 of the series but took part in the team's optional morning skate Monday.

"His recovery has been quite remarkable," coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters.

Tavares was taken off the ice on a stretcher in Game 1 of Toronto's first-round playoff series against the Canadiens. While he avoided significant structural damage when his head accidentally hit the knee of Montreal winger Corey Perry as he was falling, he still suffered a knee injury and concussion in a scary scene.

Mark Masters of TSN noted the initial timeline for a return was at least two weeks, while Game 7 represents 11 days since the injuries.

When healthy, Tavares is one of the Maple Leafs' leaders as a six-time All-Star who has four seasons of more than 80 points on his resume.

He finished the 2020-21 campaign with 50 points on 19 goals and 31 assists in 56 games.

Tavares is a primary reason there is optimism around the Maple Leafs as they search for their first Stanley Cup title since 1967, but they will have to rely even more on the offense of Mitchell Marner and Auston Matthews if he is sidelined.