Buffalo Sabres trade Jack Eichel to Vegas Golden Knights

The Buffalo Sabres traded center Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights, the team confirmed Thursday.

TSN was the first to report the trade. 

Buffalo will receive top prospect forward Peyton Krebs, forward Alex Tuch, plus a first round pick in 2022 and a 2023 third round pick in return. 

"We are getting a player that I think is one of the top players in the league. He’s in the prime of his career. It addresses a need in our organization. When you look at what a contending team should look like, he’s a big part of that," Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said.

The Calgary Flames were also reportedly in play to acquire Eichel before this move to Vegas.

The 25-year old Eichel has not played this season due to a herniated disk in his neck, but has resisted surgery. The Sabres want Eichel to undergo a fusion surgery, while Eichel's camp prefer he get a disk replacement procedure. 

Eichel is on the team's injured reserve list after failing a physical and also had captaincy taken away before the season. 

He was the No. 2 pick overall by Buffalo in the 2015 NHL draft and is in middle of an eight-year, $80 million deal. 

In 375 career games, Eichel has 139 goals, 216 assists and 355 points.