from Adam Proteau of The Hockey News,

For different reasons, the names of Buffalo Sabres star center Jack Eichel and St. Louis Blues elite winger Vladimir Tarasenko were front and center amid the trade rumor mill. Both Eichel and Tarasenko expressed the wish they be dealt as soon as possible, but here we are, with NHL training camps well underway, and yet each of the two remain untraded.

Does that mean they’re going to have to play this regular season out and try to pressure a deal in the summer of 2022?

Not necessarily.

In fact, I expect both of them to be moved before this coming season’s trade deadline. But fans of theirs who believe they’re going to be traded in the next few weeks should think twice. The NHL is not a reactionary league, and it’s entirely possible the Blues and Sabres hang onto their disgruntled employees until well into the 2021-22 schedule.

Why the wait? Well, for one thing, according to CapFriendly.com, virtually half the league’s teams (15 out of 32, in this case) have less than $1 million in salary cap space.

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