O'Reilly 'absolutely' thinks Eichel is ready to be Sabres' captain

If Jack Eichel thinks he deserves to be the next captain of the Buffalo Sabres, he has one former teammate in his corner.

Ryan O'Reilly, who spent the last three seasons in Western New York alongside Eichel before being dealt to the St. Louis Blues this summer, responded emphatically when asked if he thought the Sabres' franchise cornerstone was ready to wear the 'C'.

"Absolutely. Oh, gosh, yeah," he told Sportsnet's Luke Fox at BioSteel camp Tuesday.

The Sabres went without a captain last year, but Eichel did have an 'A' on his sweater. Brian Gionta is the team's most recent captain, holding that position for three seasons until the 2016-17 campaign.

It's possible Jason Pominville, who was the Sabres' captain for two years during his first stint in Buffalo, draws consideration for the 'C'. But Eichel, who is about to enter the first season of an eight-year, $80-million contract, seems like a more likely choice, even though he's still only 21 years old.