Five years after the deal that changed both franchises, the Jack Eichel trade still looks like one of the defining moves of the modern NHL.
On Nov. 4, 2021, the Vegas Golden Knights landed the star centre from the Buffalo Sabres, along with a 2023 third-round pick, in exchange for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, a 2022 first-round pick and a 2023 second-round pick. At the time, Eichel was 24 and had been away from hockey activities for nine months because of a herniated disc in his neck.
The move came after a messy standoff in Buffalo. Eichel wanted disc replacement surgery, while the Sabres hesitated because no NHL player had ever gone through that procedure before. The tension pushed the situation to the trade that sent him to Vegas.
Eichel’s path to that point had already been loaded with expectations. Buffalo picked him second overall in the 2015 draft, one spot behind Connor McDavid.
He spent six seasons with the Sabres, piling up 139 goals and 355 points in 375 games, and was named captain in October 2018. He was also in the fourth season of an eight-year, $80 million contract with a $10 million annual cap hit.
The early returns in Vegas were bumpy. After the surgery he wanted, Eichel missed another four months. He finished that season with 14 goals and 25 points in 34 games, while the Golden Knights missed the playoffs for the only time in franchise history.
Then everything swung. In 2022-23, Vegas went 51-22-9 and finished first in the Pacific Division.
Eichel got back to point-per-game form, putting up 27 goals and 66 points in 67 games. He carried that into the postseason, where he led all scorers with six goals and 26 points in 22 games as the Golden Knights beat the Florida Panthers in five games for their first Stanley Cup in just their sixth season.
He finished second to Jonathan Marchessault in Conn Smythe voting.
Since arriving in Vegas, Eichel has produced 134 goals and 365 points in 332 games. He also had two goals and 22 points in 22 playoff games last season as the Golden Knights reached the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes. This season, he enters Wednesday’s action tied for seventh in league scoring with seven goals and 22 points in 17 games, with Vegas sitting second in the Pacific at 10-5-2.
His impact has stretched beyond the NHL, too. The Chelmsford, Mass., native helped the United States win gold at Milano Cortina 2026, the country’s first men’s hockey gold since 1980, and also helped the Americans to a second-place finish at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The trade also brought Vegas Mathieu Cataford, who was the 2024 Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League MVP. Cataford scored 31 goals and 75 points with the Halifax Mooseheads in the year he was drafted, then followed that with 40 goals and 90 points in 65 games to win MVP. He had three goals and 13 points in 59 games with AHL Henderson in his first pro season last year and has one assist in 10 games this season.
Buffalo’s side of the deal has had its own ripple effects. The Sabres used the 2022 first-round pick to select Noah Ostlund 16th overall, and later moved the 2023 second-rounder in a deal with the Minnesota Wild for Jordan Greenway.
Tuch was the headliner for Buffalo’s return and eventually became a major scorer. In his first full season with the Sabres in 2022-23, he scored a career-high 36 goals and 79 points in 74 games. He followed with 33 goals and 66 points last season as Buffalo won the Atlantic Division and made the playoffs for the first time since 2010-11, then added four goals and seven points in the postseason before the team was eliminated by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round.
Across five seasons in Buffalo, Tuch had 139 goals and 309 points in 360 games. The Sabres traded him to the Washington Capitals last offseason in a sign-and-trade that brought back David Kampf and a 2026 third-round pick, and Tuch signed an eight-year, $84 million contract with Washington.
Krebs and Ostlund are still in the organization and remain part of the Sabres’ depth. Krebs posted a career-best 12 goals and 39 points in 82 games last season, with Lindy Ruff using him all over the lineup, and he added two goals and six points in the playoffs. The 25-year-old centre has seven assists in 14 games this season and has spent time as Buffalo’s No. 1 centre.
Ostlund finished his rookie season in 2025-26 with 11 goals and 27 points, though injury limited him to three playoff games. He signed an eight-year, $52.8 million extension in the offseason and has four goals and nine points in 14 games this season while seeing time on the top power-play unit.
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