Does the team who acquires the better player win the trade?
By Olivia Lawrence
RP Show Intern
One of the biggest trades in the National Hockey League (NHL) this year was the Jack Eichel trade from the Buffalo Sabres to the Vegas Golden Knights. Rod Pedersen had NHL alumni Matthew Barnaby on Tuesday’s episode of the Rod Pedersen Show to share his opinion about the trade, and he said without a doubt Vegas got the better deal.
“Who won? Las Vegas, they got the better player, the best player, top 10 player in the National Hockey League,” said Barnaby. “When you think of Jack Eichel when he is healthy, and what he can bring to that lineup. They needed a bonafide number one center, they got a star in Jack Eichel and when he comes back, he’ll be ready to go. He makes them not only a legit Cup contender but maybe the favorite when Colorado are unrolling on all cylinders.”
Barnaby does not deny that Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs, two of the four guys traded to Buffalo for Eichel, are really good players. Krebs is more of an up incoming future threat for the Sabres, but he is doing very well with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL). However, Eichel is the guy that can win your team Stanley Cups, and that is the ultimate goal for all teams in the NHL. Vegas has probably done the best job of that short term out of any team, qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs in all four of their seasons.
“I saw Jeff O’Neal saying the same thing, whoever gets the better player wins the trade, I’ve heard that before,” said Rod Pedersen. “I don’t know if I fully believe it, but did the Sabres fail Eichel or did Eichel fail the Sabres, or was it just a marriage that got sour and you couldn’t come back?”
“I would say they both failed each other,” said Barnaby. “I think this started with the Sabres and Tim Murray, when he looked like he was in disgust when he didn’t win the Connor McDavid sweepstakes and unfortunately got Jack Eichel at number two, it started off bad. They never surrounded him with players that had a chance of ever competing. Not only for a Stanley Cup but barely for a playoff position.”
But Barnaby also acknowledges how Eichel came into the Sabres as an immature young superstar who was likely not the greatest guy around the team or Buffalo in general.
“I would say the Sabres failed him, more than he failed them, but in the end, I think they both failed each other,” said Barnaby.
