Eichel headed to Montreal, having just boarded a plane with his hockey sticks; what does this mean?

Sportsnet's Eric Engels just dropped a bit of a bombshell on Twitter with the announcement that disgruntled Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel has just boarded a plane that is headed to Montreal, hockey sticks in tow.

While Engels concedes that it could be purely coincidental, it seems more than a bit odd that Eichel would fire his representation, hire Pat Brisson, who is very close with Habs GM Marc Bergevin and then hop on a plane to Montreal shortly thereafter.

Eichel remains in a stalemate with the Sabres over the handling of his neck injury, which will require surgery. The type of surgery that Eichel has opted for is an Artificial Disc Replacement, vs a more traditional route.

The Canadiens, who have already lost center Phillip Danault, could lose center Jesperi Kotkaniemi after the Carolina Hurricanes offer sheeted the 21-year-old on Saturday. The Habs have 6 more days to decide whether or not to match. If they find a way to acquire Eichel, a bona-fide franchise center, it would not only soften the blow of losing Danault and, potentially, Kotkaniemi - it could also thrust them into playoff contention once again, depending on what the cost to acquire Eichel would be.

Engels did point out that Biosteel Camp is set to take place in Montreal this week, but it does still feel a bit odd that Eichel, who is in need of such a risky surgery, would be headed there specifically for that reason alone.

This is certainly an interesting development and remains one of the offseason's hottest topics.

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