What would the Rangers have to trade to acquire Jack Eichel

With Jack Eichel on the outs with the Buffalo Sabres, here is what it could potentially take the New York Rangers to acquire him.

The Buffalo Sabres may have won the first-overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and promoted Don Granato to head coach, but that does not silence the talk surrounding Jack Eichel. The belief is that the Sabres will have to trade Eichel, considering the two sides have differing opinions on how to handle the star center’s neck injury. Eichel wants to undergo disc replacement surgery, but the team will not allow it.

With that, all eyes will be on where Eichel will end up when he is inevitably traded as early as this offseason. One team that has been constantly linked to the Sabres star is the New York Rangers. But what would it realistically take the Rangers to acquire Eichel if they were to seriously pursue him?

Jack Eichel’s contract details

After completing his entry deal, the Sabres and Eichel agreed to terms with an eight-year, $80 million contract extension, which kicked in at the 2018-19 season. With this past campaign behind us, Eichel still has five years remaining on this deal coming in at an annual average salary of $10 million.

Through his first six seasons with the Sabres, Eichel tallied 139 goals and 216 assists in 375 games played. Eichel only played in 21 games this past season, where he logged two goals and 16 assists.

What would it take the Rangers to acquire Jack Eichel?

The Sabres are understandably going to want a huge return for Eichel, who was the solid  consolation prize in the Connor McDavid sweepstakes of the 2015 NHL Draft Lottery. But, teams are going to be wary of surrendering the farm for Eichel due to the uncertainty surrounding his neck injury and that they have to pick up the remaining five years on his deal.

Realistically, the best way the Sabres can get a premium haul for Eichel is for them to retain some of his salary. If that is the case, the Rangers could oblige and cave into their demands to a degree. And no, the Rangers will not be sending over the likes of Alexis Lafreniere, Adam Fox, K’Andre Miller or Kappo Kaako to Buffalo.

Since Buffalo is giving up their star center, they will need a center in the return. In this case, it will be veteran Ryan Strome, who has one more year remaining on his contract before hitting free agency in 2022. As mentioned earlier, the Rangers will need to send over some young players over in the deal. Considering the talents named above as off-limits, the Rangers could send over forward Vitali Kravtsov and defenseman Zac Jones. Finally, the Rangers can send over their 2021 first-round pick to sweeten the deal.

The Rangers are in a position to make a move for Eichel, especially if the asking price drops. Yet, there are also in a spot where they can stand pat and be perfectly fine due to the abundance of young talent they have in the organization and the fact that they can re-sign center Mika Zibanejad to a new deal, as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent next year.

But if the Rangers were to pursue Eichel, this might be the blueprint of a deal.