DFO Rundown: Jack Eichel’s future in Buffalo, Canadian Division coaches on the hot seat, and more!

In Friday’s episode of DFO Rundown, Frank Seravalli and Jason Gregor discussed a handful of hot topics from around the NHL, including Jack Eichel’s future in Buffalo, the Oilers’ pursuit of the North Division crown, and which head coach could be fired next.

QUESTION: Will Geoff Ward be the coach of the Flames in two weeks?

SERAVALLI: It’s so clear that the Flames need a change but here’s the thing I’m wondering… Does Brad Treliving have that bullet to fire at this point? They just went through the process this off-season with Ward deciding the interim guy is going to be your guy. It reeked of being inconfident from the start, only giving Ward a two-year deal, and I don’t know if he has the ability to make the change if he wants to. Maybe he has to go in a different direction and make a big trade or a shake-up.

GREGOR: I think a trade first. I think Treliving is going to look and say the easy out would be firing the head coach. They have a lot of guys not playing and I think they’ll fall back on the fact that Jacob Markstrom has been out and they hope that when he comes back, combined with a trade, that will allow them to go. I think Geoff Ward will get the stay of execution.

QUESTION: Will @Jack Eichel be a Sabre when the 2021-22 season begins?

GREGOR: Can they trade Jeff Skinner with him? I’m going to sell. A) I don’t know if the Sabres are going to get great value and B) you know how many teams are going to want to take a ten-million-dollar player who right now isn’t producing. So I’m going to say that the turmoil in Buffalo extends another season. I think they’re going to try to convince him to stay. You heard Ralph Krueger, I think, about ten days ago say Eichel’s got to persevere a little bit more. Eichel might not like it but I don’t think Buffalo can find a trade that makes sense for them.

SERAVALLI: I am buying. To persevere through what? It’s been a constant s***storm since he got there, in my opinion. I think Jack Eichel has seen some things. He’s seen that this isn’t getting better quickly enough. He’s been there a long time with a real lack of success. And I think my guess is that he’s had enough and wants out. And at a certain point, it’s not going to matter what the Sabers try and do to convince him because they’ve been trying to convince him for a long time.

QUESTION: Will the Oilers win the North Division?

GREGOR: Well, I have to buy because I said at the start of the year they would win. And I’ve never in twenty years ever pick the Oilers to win the division because they’ve been pretty much the worst organization for two decades. But everybody forgets the Oilers were really good in 2019-20 up until four games against Chicago and then they suck balls. So I look at Edmonton, I don’t expect them to go, what are they, 11- 2 the remainder of the way and dominate like that. But you’ve got the best player in the game in McDavid, you’ve got another top-five player in Leon Draisaitl, you’ve got defenseman that are emerging to play better, and your goaltending tandem when you get into more games will be better than they were in January. So I am buying that the Oilers overtake the Toronto Maple Leafs.

SERAVALLI: I think the Oilers have been fantastic, of course, over these last number of weeks, but they haven’t been as consistent as the Toronto Maple Leafs. And I don’t think the Ottawa Senators were quite as bad as they showed in their first start to the year. And we’re seeing that rebound now. I don’t think the Oilers are quite as good as they’ve shown over these last couple of weeks. So I’m going to sell. I still think they’re a firm playoff team. I’ve said that right from the very beginning. But I think that they’re in that two to three or four range in the North division and we’ll see how it all plays out.

QUESTION: Will Travis Green outlast Jim Benning in Vancouver?

SERAVALLI: For whatever reason, Vancouver is the most panicked market in the NHL. And that says a lot, considering even just looking at the North division and the chaos that’s existed there. That organization is going to be patient. I know that’s not what everyone wants to hear, but they’ve got these four pillars to build around that are so incredibly hard to find. You’ve got a goalie and Thatcher Demko, a potential Norris candidate in Quinn Hughes, and up front, Elias Pettersson and a real leader in Bo Horvat. Those are the four pillars that this team is building on. And this year is not the finished product.

GREGOR: I’m curious if Travis Green tests free agency. I probably would buy on that. I think that there’s a better chance because Green’s been there shorter, and I think the owner really likes him, that they might go with that strange thing where we’re going to bring in a new GM, but he has to keep the coach. We’ve seen other organizations do it. I know it’s not necessarily the best strategy right from the get-go, but I will buy the Travis Green outlasts Jim Benning. I thought Vancouver, this is the team I thought they’d be this year. I thought they overachieved last year in the playoffs and that and that can really skew expectations for teams.

The entire podcast can be viewed here…