{"playerId":3554,"percentChange":-1.3,"averageDraftPosition":52.7,"percentOwned":95.2,"playerRaterSEASON":7.9,"playerRater7DAY":0.1,"mostRecentNews":{"news":"Eichel is free to negotiate a contract extension with the Sabres beginning Saturday, and new Sabres GM Jason Botterill has expressed how important he feels the center is to the club, The Buffalo News reports. \"Our conversations over the last month or so with (agent) Peter Fish have gone very well,\" Botterill said. \"It's a situation of understanding we've had a lot going on in the organization, but we've clearly told Peter we understand how important Jack is to our organization here moving forward.\"","spin":"The supremely talented pivot voiced his frustration with the Sabres coaching staff when Dan Bylsma was behind the bench, and in April, Eichel went as far as saying he wouldn't sign an extension -- he has one year remaining on his entry-level deal -- if Blysma was to return next season. As it turns out, the admonishment worked in Eichel's favor and Buffalo wound up replacing not only Blysma, but general manager Tim Murray as well. Despite being in the league for just two years and counting, Eichel has tremendous leverage with this franchise; he'll likely net a huge contract this summer after adding 113 points (48 goals, 65 assists) in 142 games between seasons one and two.","date":"Fri Jun 30"},"fullName":"Jack Eichel","seasonOutlook":{"outlook":"The second overall pick in the 2015 draft, Eichel lit the lamp an impressive 24 times as a rookie last season. Blessed with an incredible release on his wrist shot and a powerful stride, Eichel finished with 238 shots on net, 25th among the league's forwards, a testament to his ability to consistently find offensive opportunities despite playing on one of the league's weakest offensive teams. He's one of those rare volume shooters who can be extraordinarily efficient, making good on 10.1 percent of shots, a better clip than guys like Taylor Hall and Nathan MacKinnon in 2015-16. He showed exceptional chemistry with Sam Reinhart last season, and newly signed Kyle Okposo might get some time with Eichel this season as well. The fear with Eichel, like many other young talented players, is that he might succumb to the dreaded sophomore slump, but the Sabres can mitigate that by insulating him with Ryan O'Reilly handling the tougher assignments. Furthermore, Eichel led all Sabres forwards in even-strength points with 29, and should be a 40-goal scorer before long.","seasonId":2017,"date":"Thu Sep 15"},"playerRater30DAY":6.8,"playerRater15DAY":4.9,"positionRank":28}