Jack Eichel Has Reportedly Been Sought After In Trade Discussions, New York Rangers Among “Several” Suitors

The biggest question circulating around the NHL word this afternoon (other than who will hoist the Stanley Cup this week) was centered around Buffalo Sabres superstar Jack Eichel.

Look, when a team with no recent history in winning fires their coach and GM, the worst word for a fan to hear starts to creep into the minds of many; “rebuild”. It could be going that way for the Buffalo Sabres, and if that were to be the case, the first order of business could be to get a MASSIVE haul for their captain Jack Eichel. According to TSN’s Bob Mckenzie, that has been discussed.

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Imagine my surprise when I started making calls today and heard Jack Eichel trade rumours, including unverified chatter he may have at some point recently requested a trade out of BUF and that NYR were amongst interested teams. This, of course, required further investigation.

— Bobby Margarita (@TSNBobMcKenzie) September 28, 2020

Eichel is a no-doubt a top player in this league and he’s also only 23-years-old, which makes this story pretty baffling on the surface. Even if Buffalo isn’t prepared to go into “win now” mode next season, Eichel is a guy you want to build around. However, it appears as if Buffalo’s new GM Kevyn Adams is at least testing the trade waters to see what he could get for his most valuable asset. Mckenzie elaborated on the trade chatter in subsequent tweets.

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The messaging out of BUF is Sabres aren’t shopping Eichel, there’s no real desire to trade him, but since Kevyn Adams became new GM several clubs have called about Eichel’s availability. NYR believed to be one of the teams that called. So calls were made; calls were taken.

— Bobby Margarita (@TSNBobMcKenzie) September 28, 2020

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A Fit For Eichel with the New York Rangers?

I’m not going to lie, I would LOVE to see the New York Rangers pull off a deal for Jack Eichel. Whether you like it or not, sports are better when New York teams are competitive, and the New York Rangers look like they have a young nucleus that could be good for a very long time.

They also struck gold and won the draft lottery last month. The consensus top pick will be 18-year-old winger Alexis Lafreniere. Although you never know, this kid looks like one of those “can’t miss” prospects after watching what he has done in the Canadian Juniors. I mean, just check out some of his highlights.

For the Rangers, having Alexis Lafreniere in their back pocket means that pulling off a trade for Jack Eichel might just be crazy enough to work. If they could swing it, the Rangers would be at the top of the list of contenders for the 2021 Stanley Cup.

I’d bet Eichel stays put for now, though. Even if the Rangers were to part ways with the #1 overall pick, they’d probably have to throw in some other assets to land a player of Eichel’s caliber. I also don’t see any other team being able to match a similar package for the Sabres star.

I also think the Buffalo organization believes their best case scenario is that they can improve the team enough to keep Eichel happy and win with him on the roster in the future. With that being said, if Buffalo keeps losing, Eichel’s patience will continue to run thin. I wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t the last time we heard rumors surrounding Jack Eichel.

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