As every day passes we get closer to a Jack Eichel trade taking place. It’s hard to really get to anything else that the Buffalo Sabres have to do this offseason because of the magnitude of this move. The return will give us an idea of the approach Kevyn Adams plans to take with his roster this summer and what may happen with others on the roster.

As you may know by now, my information is that the Anaheim Ducks sit in the driver seat when it comes to the trade discussions with Eichel. The two sides have been discussing this deal going all the way back to at least March, according to sources.

I’ve written about a trade with the Ducks on two separate occasions for this site, but we’re starting to get a little bit of clarity on what may or may not be involved in this blockbuster. I decided to take a tiered approach this time to put together a realistic package of what the Sabres could be getting in return for their disgruntled captain.

Tier 1 – Select One

We’ll start with the top assets and work our way down. This tier will consist of three pieces in which we’ll be able to choose one option to go into the trade package.

Third Overall

The first piece is the third overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. Elliotte Friedman has discussed on his 31 Thoughts podcast that he’s hearing that the Buffalo Sabres may end up with another pick in the top 10 of this draft. Getting this pick would give the Sabres two picks in the top three of the upcoming draft.

They could walk out of New Jersey with two of Owen Power, Matthew Beniers, William Eklund, and Brandt Clarke. Two big pieces to help jump-start a new era of Buffalo Sabres hockey.

Jamie Drysdale

The next option is 2020 sixth overall selection, Jamie Drysdale. The 19-year-old defenseman had an up and down rookie season in the NHL and AHL. He’s one of the few players that suffered from the OHL not having a season. The expectation was for him to play with the Erie Otters last season. The current CHL/NHL agreement also complicates where he can play next season. At his age it’s either the NHL or back to Erie. I’m not sure he’s ready to step into NHL full time yet.

Drysdale is a right-shot defenseman, which is an area of need for the Sabres. They’re heavy on the left side of their blue line. There’s a lot of upside with the Canadian-born defender, but he’ll need a few years to develop to reach his potential.

Trevor Zegras

Last, but not least is 2019 ninth overall pick Trevor Zegras. He had a strong first pro season playing in the NHL and AHL. Zegras kicked off his year leading Team USA to a Gold Medal in the U20 World Junior Championship. The forward was named as the most valuable player of the tournament.

He’s the piece that most fans covet when they discuss the Ducks as a trade option. Zegras has a lot of potential and would join Dylan Cozens as a young one-two punch down the middle of the Sabres lineup.

My Selection: Third Overall

I’m not saying it’s impossible, but at this point it feels unlikely that the Ducks would include either Zegras or Drysdale. They want to keep Zegras around to play behind Eichel and they see Drysdale as a future top-pair defenseman.

It doesn’t mean that the Sabres have been fleeced if they don’t get either of these two prospects. Their is a package that you can build from the assets on the Ducks that would be a strong return.

I would say at this point that it’s very likely that the third overall pick will be included in this deal if it happens. If the Adams is able to pull one of Zegras or Drysdale out of Bob Murray in addition to that top three pick; you won’t see much beyond that. The Sabres would likely only get one more tier three asset and may have to provide a conditional pick back to the Ducks.

At this time, I’m told there’s a good amount of discussion around conditions in a potential trade to protect the team acquiring Eichel in the case his neck injury does keep him out of games in the next year or two.

Tier 2 – Select Two

This next group here we get into the roster players that will be added to the trade package. There are a few interesting names for the Sabres to consider in this section.

Max Comtois

Comtois is the guy at the top of this group for me. The 22-year-old played his first full season in the NHL this year and emerged as a key player for the Ducks last season. He backed that up by playing well at the World Championships for Team Canada on their way to a Gold Medal.

He’s a winger that brings a nice combination of size and skill, which is something the Sabres need. The part about him that has my attention is that he’s an above-average finisher so far in his career. The Sabres need to add players that can put the puck into the net with consistently. Especially if they’re trading away one of their few elite finishers in Eichel.

You’ll see in Evolving Hockey’s player card for Comtois above how impactful his offensive game was last season. He needs to make some improvements in his own end of the ice, but some of that could be tied to the fact that the Ducks were one of the worst defensive clubs in hockey this season. They gave up the fifth-highest shot quality against per 60 minutes at 5 on 5 in the twins’ model.

John Gibson

Gibson is a wild card in these trade discussions. It’s odd on both sides for him to be involved in this deal. From the Ducks’ side, why would they move him now after acquiring Eichel? Do they think that highly of Lukas Dostal?

On the Sabres side of things, if they’re going into a full rebuild adding Gibson is a counterproductive move. They’ll be wasting more of his prime years on a bad team and it’ll make it harder for them to finish at the bottom of the standings.

Having said all of that, according to two sources, his name has been part of the conversation. To be clear, that doesn’t mean he’ll be in this deal. I’ve mentioned a few times on this site and on the podcast that Adams has been after Gibson going back to last offseason.

The only way this makes sense for the Sabres is if they plan to attempt to pull off a quick turnaround and not go through a multi-year rebuild. The 27-year-old is under contract for five more years. It would solve the issue in goal for the Sabres for the foreseeable future.

Gibson has been up and down the last two years. It’s hard to evaluate goaltenders in general, but this situation is tough too. He has faced the third-highest shot quality against in all situations over the last two years. In Evolving Hockey’s model his goals saved above expected numbers have been poor. He’s ranked 60th in GSAx over the last two years among goaltenders to play at least 500 minutes.

However, as you’ll see below, overall his shot-adjusted numbers were still slightly above average this past season at even-strength.

Sam Steel

The former first-round pick is another player the Sabres could consider. Steel hasn’t lived up to his potential at this point and is 23-year-old. The player you see now is likely the player that you’re going to get in the NHL.

I feel at best, he’s a bottom six winger. He doesn’t have the production and on-ice impact to get excited about this player.

Max Jones

Jones is the other first-round pick of the Ducks from the 2016 NHL Draft that could be part of this deal. If I had to choose between these two players, I would take Jones. However, neither of these players interest me that much.

There’s not enough there at the NHL level in terms of production or impact. The Sabres can’t take a player that has underperformed expectations and believe that he’ll find his game on their team. They’ve made that mistake a handful of times in the past.

Troy Terry

The last player in this group is 23-year-old Troy Terry. He’s the player that the Sabres should have far more interest in over Steel and Jones. His production numbers are not great in the NHL, but his underlying numbers are intriguing. He falls into a similar bucket to Anders Bjork for me.

You’ll see above in the twins goals above replacement model that he’s a good two-way player that can be an underrated played in the middle six of a lineup. I would prefer his finishing ability to be better. If they can get a player like Comtois in this deal, then Terry makes sense as a guy they can acquire to play all over their lineup in a variety of situations.

My Selections: Max Comtois and John Gibson

Comtois is almost a must-have for me in this deal. He’s a top-six scoring winger that the Sabres need to add to their roster. As I said, I still scratch my head at Gibson being in this deal but something in my gut tells me that he will be. The Sabres covet him and the Ducks get his cap off of their books to clear some space for Eichel. The cap space opened up could allow the Ducks to chase some players in free agency

Tier 3 – Select One

Now, we enter the final section of the trade. This part is the select one of the B-level prospects out of the Ducks system.

Jacob Perreault

Perreault was selected 27th overall by the Ducks just last year. I was a big fan of his coming out of the draft last year. I ended up ranking him 13th last year in my final rankings. Perreault was forced into playing in the AHL last season with the OHL canceling their year due to Covid-19. He put up 17 points in 27 games playing for the San Diego Gulls.

His shot is what makes him such a dynamic player. He may have had one of the best shots in the draft last year. He’ll likely head back to the OHL to play for the Sarnia Sting next season.

Jackson LaCombe

LaCombe is a player I got a good look at this year while watching Ryan Johnson at the University of Minnesota. LaCombe is a dynamic two-defenseman with great skating ability. He was drafted 39th overall by the Ducks in the 2019 NHL Draft. The only down side is he would be another left-shot defenseman to add into the mix, but the Sabres could have a need there in two years.

Lukas Dostal

Dostal is the big goalie prospect in the system behind John Gibson right now. The 21-year-old was the best goaltender in Liiga as a teammate of Arttu Ruotsalainen at Ilves before coming over to North American when the season started. He backed that up with a .916 save percentage in 24 appearances in the AHL.

The Finnish goaltender could be ready to step into the NHL next season.

Henry Thrun

Thrun is another left-shot defenseman in the Ducks system. He was another played impacted by Covid-19. Thrun was supposed to play at Harvard, but they canceled their season. That forced him to play 24 games in the USHL with the Dubuque Fighting Saints. He registered 22 points in those 24 games. He was also part of the American blue line that won Gold at the World Juniors.

I would prefer LaCombe over Thrun, but he’s a player worth mentioning.

My Selection: Jacob Perreault

This was a toss up for me between Perreault and LaCombe. I landed on Perreault because of how deep the Sabres are right now on the left side of their blue line. They’ll likely be adding another left shot defenseman in Owen Power come the end of July.

Final Package

When you throw it all together, my selections give the Sabres a return of Max Comtois, John Gibson, Jacob Perreault, and a 2021 first-round pick (third overall) in exchange for Jack Eichel.

It’s a steep price for the Ducks to pay, but they hold onto their top two prospects in this deal. The Sabres get an answer in goal, dynamic forwards, and another top-three pick in the upcoming draft.

We’ll see how this all shakes out with Eichel over the next few weeks.

Photo Credit: Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images

Data via: Evolving Hockey, Cap Friendly, and Hockeyviz.com