Deep Blue Sea: Revisiting the Jack Eichel rumors

Well, some pretty decent-sized San Jose Sharks and NHL news was released yesterday, as the league announced that Evander Kane had been suspended for 21 games without pay for breaking the league’s COVID Protocol.

Reports indicate that Kane submitted a fake COVID-19 vaccination card to the league and the Sharks, which is a problem as it would have lifted the restrictions that many unvaccinated players have on them for the 2021-22 season, including the ability to play in Canada.

This isn’t the biggest news to come out of this, however, as the Sharks have been playing without Kane through the preseason. Brian Witt of NBC Sports California proposed that this news could actually mean that the Sharks are a more likely possibility for Jack Eichel now.

Kane will forfeit $1.68 million of his $7 million contract due to the suspension, and the Sharks will get equal cap relief. If the team is able to somehow void Kane’s contract — if they even want to — that may be enough to clear up the space to bring in Eichel. Witt also cites Pierre LeBrun, who listed San Jose as a landing spot for Eichel, even before the Kane news broke.

As we noted a few days ago, LeBrun told TSN’s OverDrive radio show that whoever trades for Eichel knows that they won’t be getting him for at least four months, if not longer depending on his recovery, so it would have to be a team that can live with moving big pieces while waiting for him to be ready.

News and Notes

• Sharks suddenly more possible landing spot for Sabres’ Eichel [NBC Sports California]
• Sharks’ Evander Kane suspended 21 games for COVID rules violations [San Francisco Chronicle]
• Evander Kane suspension: Where it ranks among the longest in Sharks history [East Bay Times]
• Sharks rookies off to a great start, but now comes hard part [The Press Democrat]/

Blood in the Water

• Maple Leafs relax dress code for players [Yahoo Sports]
• Jets’ Wheeler enters NHL’s COVID protocol [Winnipeg Sun]
• Habs’ Belzile, Islanders’ Komarov placed on waivers [TSN]
• Ducks’ McTavish leaves games vs Flames with lower-body injury [Sportsnet]
• Rangers Call Up Morgan Barron; Place Kaapo Kakko on IR [Blueshirt Banter]/

Scores & Recaps

• Seattle Kraken 1, Philadelphia Flyers 6
• New York Rangers 2, Toronto Maple Leafs 1 (OT)
• Anaheim Ducks 3, Calgary Flames 2 (OT)
• St. Louis Blues 7, Arizona Coyotes 4/

Click on a team name to find a recap on their SB Nation site!

On the Schedule

• Vancouver Canucks at Buffalo Sabres, 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET on SN 360, MSG-B, ESPN+
• Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning, 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET on TVAS, BSSUN, BSFL, ESPN+
• Seattle Kraken at New Jersey Devils, 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET on MSG+, ROOT SNW, ESPN+
• San Jose Sharks at Montreal Canadiens, 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET on TSN2, RDS, NBCS-CA, ESPN+
• Colorado Avalanche at Washington Capitals, 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET on Hulu, ESPN+
• Dallas Stars at Pittsburgh Penguins, 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET on SN PT, BSSW, ESPN+
• Columbus Blue Jackets at Detroit Red Wings, 4:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET on BSDET, BSOH, ESPN+
• New York Islanders at Chicago Blackhawks, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on ESPN
• Winnipeg Jets at Minnesota Wild, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on BSN, BSWI, ESPN+
• Los Angeles Kings at Nashville Predators, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on BSSO, BSW, ESPN+
• Anaheim Ducks at Edmonton Oilers, 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET on BSSC, BSSD, ESPN+/