Back in 2021, tensions were high in the city of Buffalo. <\/p>\n
Former 2nd overall pick and superstar centre Jack Eichel found himself engaged in a tense standoff with Kevyn Adams and Buffalo Sabres management.<\/p>\n
It all started after Eichel suffered a herniated cervical disc in March 2021. The Sabres urged Eichel to have a traditional spinal fusion procedure. This procedure would greatly limit the mobility of Eichel\u2019s neck.<\/p>\n
A second option was discussed: to have artificial disc surgery. It was an operation that had never been performed on an NHL player before.<\/p>\n
Eichel opted to have the artificial disc surgery<\/a>; the Sabres said no. Management stripped Eichel of his captaincy<\/a>, and he was officially being shopped around<\/a>.<\/p>\n The trade that almost was<\/p>\n Almost every GM picked up the phone and tried to swing their best offer. However, Eichel confirmed in a 2023 interview that the two finalists were Vegas and Calgary.<\/p>\n According to Kevin Weekes, the Flames\u2019 offer for Eichel was this:<\/p>\n The Flames would receive Jack Eichel and likely another player to make the money work. <\/p>\n The Sabres reportedly wanted Matthew Tkachuk, a 1st round pick, a former 1st round pick (or, if rumours are to be believed, to be Andrew Mangiapane) and two prospects.<\/p>\n Brad Treliving wasn\u2019t willing to go there. In hindsight, Tkachuk left the following summer, and Mangiapane turned into a bottom-six winger. It\u2019s disappointing.<\/p>\n According to Elliotte Friedman, the wheels fell off a potential deal after this.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve said this many times: I think Calgary was in this the whole way. There have been some reports that they were close. I don\u2019t like to say I\u2019m any smarter or better than anybody else. I\u2019m just saying what I\u2019ve heard. I don\u2019t know that they were ever close. As a matter of fact, I was told that they weren\u2019t close, but they were always there, and they were always trying to find a way to make it work.<\/p>\n I think they were willing to deal some of their top prospects. I think they were willing to deal upcoming first-round picks. I think they were looking to deal maybe a player or two off their roster. But they didn\u2019t have anyone that Buffalo liked as much as Krebs and they didn\u2019t have anyone that Buffalo thought would be as excited to go there as Tuch, and that\u2019s what I heard were the two big strikes against Calgary.<\/p>\n The other thing too is I think Buffalo asked about Tkachuk, and I think they asked about Mangiapane, and Calgary just wasn\u2019t willing to go there. And I know it got out\u2026 I don\u2019t like shooting down other people\u2019s reports. I\u2019ve had that done to me; I don\u2019t like it. The internet was set afire by the whole Tkachuk thing the night before the trade was made. I really think by that time, everybody knew he was going to Vegas.<\/p>\n The Butterfly Effect<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say Buffalo and Calgary made the deal. <\/p>\n A line of Gaudreau-Eichel-Lindholm leading the way for an already dominant Flames team would surely have been a contender. Could they have taken down the monster 2022 Cup champ Avalanche? Probably not.<\/p>\n But this deal would have changed the trajectory of the Flames organization entirely. With Gaudreau and Tkachuk gone by the summer of 2022, Eichel would have been the new face of the franchise. The \u201cBattle of Alberta\u201d featuring Connor McDavid for the Oilers and Jack Eichel for the Flames would have been electric.<\/p>\n A return to the playoffs in 2023 and a subsequent \u201cBOA\u201d rematch from 2022 would have been pure cinema. Both Alberta clubs would be the top dogs in the Pacific, leading to some entertaining hockey for the next few years.<\/p>\n The butterfly effect goes deeper than that. If Eichel was a Flame, the ongoing Flames rebuild wouldn\u2019t have happened. Behind the scenes, Eichel\u2019s close friend and former Calgary Flame, Noah Hanifin, could have extended in Calgary.<\/p>\n With a one-two punch of Eichel and Lindholm down the middle, would Nazem Kadri have signed in Calgary?<\/p>\n Would Brad Treliving have remained Flames GM if the team remained competitive? <\/p>\n Would Darryl Sutter still be behind the bench?<\/p>\n