How did sportsbooks react to the Eichel trade?
It finally happened. This morning, the Buffalo Sabres pulled the trigger trading Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights.
It was a massive trade of one of the biggest names in the hockey world that everyone assumed would vault the Golden Knights to Stanley Cup favorites… right?
Wrong.
To my, and many others surprise, the odds haven’t shifted all that significantly and there was only a minor shift in the way oddsmakers view this Golden Knights club.
According to Pointsbet Canada, Vegas’ Stanley Cup odds improved from +1100 to +1000 as soon as the trade went through, but it’s climbed a bit more over the day to +900. They didn’t leapfrog anyone in the odds and it places them in a tie for third alongside the Tampa Bay Lightning, but still behind the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers.
In the Western Conference and Pacific Division, the climb in odds is even slighter. According to Pointsbet Canada, their odds to win the West improved from +500 to +450, while their odds to win their division improved from +225 to +200.
This, they say, is due to the uncertainty that still clouds Eichel’s impending surgery and recovery. There’s no official timetable for his return given the unprecedented artificial disk replacement, but we do know Eichel could resume skating as soon as eight weeks from his surgery date and resume playing within three-to-four months, our own Frank Seravalli reported this morning.
Nonetheless, the move is a massive one for the future of the Golden Knights. It gives them a legitimate number one center in the NHL to compete with some elite talent that is also in their division.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.