Sabres want to sign Jack Eichel to contract extension

BUFFALO --The signing of center Jack Eichel to a contract extension has become the No. 1 priority of the Buffalo Sabres.
With Eichel's representatives on the same wavelength, it's hoped the two sides can come to an agreement before the start of the season, Sabres general manager Jason Botterill said Tuesday.

"I've been through those discussions before," said Botterill, who spent the previous 10 years in the Pittsburgh Penguins front office. "Whenever we did [the contracts of] Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin or Kris Letang, you're excited to get an elite player under contract."
After Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid signed an eight-year, $100 million contract on July 5, the Sabres are hoping to complete a similar contract with Eichel, the No. 2 pick behind McDavid in the 2015 NHL Draft.
"Our conversations with Jack have gone extremely well," Botterill said. "We'll continue those throughout the summer here … and see if we can find a common ground, because from our standpoint we certainly want to get something done and the only thing we've heard from Jack and his agents is they want to get something done too."
Eichel, 20, is entering the final season of his three-year, entry-level contract with an NHL salary cap charge of $925,000, according to CapFriendly.com.
Eichel had 57 points (24 goals, 33 assists) last season, when he was limited to 61 games because of a high ankle sprain sustained Oct. 12, one day before the start of the regular season. Eichel has 113 points (48 goals, 65 assists) in 142 NHL games.

Forward Sam Reinhart also is eligible to sign an extension. Reinhart is entering the final season of his three-year, entry-level contract (worth $894,167 this season, according to CapFriendly.com), but the Sabres are handling his situation a little differently.
"It's a scenario where we're excited with Sam, but I don't think something from a contract standpoint will happen this summer," Botterill said. "We have him under contract during the year, and we'll see how things play out and go from there.
"You always want to add, you always want to make the team better. But look, we were very excited about making a couple of trades there and some of the players we were able to get on July 1 from a depth standpoint to help our organization."
The Sabres signed goaltender Chad Johnson and forwards Benoit Pouliot and Jacob Josefson as unrestricted free agents on July 1, and improved their defense through trades, adding Nathan Beaulieu (restricted free agent) from the Montreal Canadiens on June 17 and Marco Scandella from the Minnesota Wild on June 30.
New coach Phil Housley, a Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman who played 21 NHL seasons, is anxious to have Beaulieu and Scandella join Rasmus Ristolainen, Zach Bogosian, Jake McCabe and Josh Gorges in Buffalo.
"Marco is a terrific player and so is Beaulieu, but I got to see Marco play a lot being in that [Central] Division with Minnesota and I thought he's a terrific player," Housley said. "He was a key element to be adding to our team, and Beaulieu, he's a terrific skater and good defender, and he's going to fit well into our system. I'm excited to work with both those guys."
The Sabres also signed defenseman Victor Antipin from Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League on May 25 and re-signed defenseman Taylor Fedun to a two-year contract on July 1. Defenseman Justin Falk signed a one-year extension last season.
"I think it's going to be important we have the depth," Housley said. "Knock on wood, we don't have those injuries because in an 82-game schedule there's going to be injuries. I really like the depth of what we have right now."