Jack Eichel confirms he was almost traded to the Flames

Vegas Golden Knights superstar Jack Eichel was recently on the Empty Netters podcast where he pulled back the curtain a bit on his blockbuster trade out of Buffalo back in 2021.

Eichel, of course, requested a trade from the Buffalo Sabres and we endured months of trade speculation before he was ultimately shipped to the Vegas Golden Knights in a blockbuster deal in exchange for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs and a 1st round pick. The deal has ultimately worked out for both sides, but Eichel informed Empty Netters listeners that he almost ended up as a member of the Calgary Flames. The Minnesota Wild, Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche were all in the mix as well, but Eichel says himself that it came down to Vegas or Calgary.

"I think as it went on different teams came in and out of the mix," Eichel said. "At the beginning, there were some teams out east trying to make things happen... I think as the summer went on you always hear different teams call. Whether it was Minnesota, Carolina or, there was a period in the early fall, where it was Colorado.

"...But when it came down to it, towards the end, it was Calgary and Vegas."

ESPN NHL insider Kevin Weekes at the time reported that the offer to Buffalo for Eichel was Matthew Tkachuk, Sean Monahan and Conor Zary in exchange for Eichel straight up. Evidently Sabres GM Kevyn Adams preferred the offer from Vegas better, but with hindsight we now know that the Flames' offer was much, MUCH stronger. Tuch and Krebs have been great for the Sabres, but could you imagine how much better they'd be off with Tkachuk in the mix? Now, there's no telling whether or not Tkachuk would re-sign with the Sabres because it's important to note that this all transpired BEFORE Tkachuk's contract with the Flames expired. We all know how that played out and there's a very real possibility that Tkachuk could have forced a trade out of Buffalo before signing a long-term deal elsewhere.

Still, this is interesting food for thought. You have to imagine that if the Flames managed to land Eichel then that means Johnny Gaudreau sticks around long-term too. Oh what could have been in CowTown.