Jack Eichels trade value is not "dwindling". Nothing has changed...Jack is a superstar in need of surgery. The only thing that's changed is the date. Frankly, his value might actually increase as the season progresses. Imagine a play-off team adding Eichel at a low cap hit. You think there might be a few teams that are close, and would be willing to part with futures to add a guy like that? Secondly...he's not suiting up as a Sabre again. The new core of the team is young, and needs a Captain. No one is surprised by the move, least of all Jack.
- SoCalPucks
His trade value certainly isn't rising, that's for sure. Teams aren't forking over a boatload of assets for a guy with major medical questions surrounding him and every day that passes is a day closer to July 1st when Jack's full-NMC kicks in and he has complete control over where he goes, which would be a disaster for the Sabres.
Most playoff teams that are "close" probably don't have the cap space to be adding a $10M without making significant cap space. Not to imply it's impossible to do that, but it's pretty rare you see a superstar player with multiple years left on his deal get moved in-season because there's a lot to juggle in real-time
