Are the Boston Bruins Out of the Running for Jack Eichel Now?

Over the past few weeks, it didn’t sound like the Boston Bruins were a heavy favorite to land Jack Eichel from the Buffalo Sabres, but their name had been mentioned in discussions about a trade and according to Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now, the Bruins were still interested. In fact, he contends the team was expected to pick up talks with the Buffalo Sabres over the coming weeks.

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Unfortunately, Eichel’s change of agents may have complicated matters from a Bruins’ perspective.

Murphy wonders if Eichel moving from Peter Fish to Pat Brisson may have hurt the Bruins chances of trading for the center. While Boston will likely remain one of the teams with an interest in making a deal if the price comes down, Brisson has a reputation for strong relationships with a number of teams and their respective GMs. Boston was believed to be a team that had good rapport with Eichel’s old agent.

Murphy writes:

While Brisson may be able to help an interested team on the NHL trade market negotiate that down, Eichel leaving Global Hockey doesn’t help much because Fish and Donatelli had a very good rapport with Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney. Not to make it worse for Bruins fans, but Brisson has a close relationship with Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin. Eichel has already been tied to the Habs before. Could the Bruins’ arch-rival land the North Chelmsford, MA native on the NHL trade market?

Murphy’s tease here that the Canadiens would be interested is just that, a tease. There’s no evidence the Habs are, all of a sudden, favorites to trade for Eichel now. At the same time, he might not be far off when it comes to the Bruins. If Eichel’s old agent had the ear of Sweeney and visa versa, perhaps the Bruins had the inside track. That may no longer be the case.

The good news for Bruins fans is that Eichel still would love to be a Bruin. He grew up in the city and he’s mentioned playing there one day before he retires. Unfortunately, he has no control over where he ends up if a deal can be completed before his no-move clause kicks in for the 2022-23 season.

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