Sabres GM insists his team's position isn't weakening in the Eichel trade negotiations

Even Jack Eichel's agents recently said the centre would be traded "very soon", yet the 24-year-old remains a member of the Buffalo Sabres for now. Due to that, many are wondering if the Sabres are in a position of weakness when it comes to Eichel, that he has to be traded for less than what he's worth just to get the situation dealt with and over. GM Kevyn Adams insists that's not the case.

"What's critically important to make sure is clear is that we're in control of this process," the general manager said Thursday. "We have a player under contract. We don't feel any pressure. If there's a deal out there that we feel is the right thing for the Buffalo Sabres, that's going to help us improve — whether that's improve right away or improve down the road, those are all the things weigh — we'd be open to it."

"But we're not in a position where we feel we're just going to do something to do it. That doesn't make any sense."

There's a growing sense that Buffalo isn't getting the offers Adams thought they would when it was made clear Eichel is available. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman believes Vegas is still in the hunt, but haven't offered enough to get a deal done. Adams reportedly wants former first-rounder Peyton Krebs and a lot more.

"I've said over and over again that we want players that want to be here," Adams said. "I'll start with that. But we have players that are on our team under contract, and we aren't going to do something that we don't think makes sense for our franchise."

"We're continuing to have a lot of conversations with teams," Adams added.

Eichel is under contract for the next five seasons at an annual cap hit of $10 million.

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