Quoting: Jdfitz77
Well thought out response
One thing i fell like u aren’t accounting for though is how Eichel makes players around him significantly more productive
Take Skinner for example:
For his career, he’s a very inconsistent scorer
Playing with Eichel, he scared 40goals & was on pace fir over 50 before his injury- compare that to his last 2 seasons playing without him
Imagine Tkachuk as a 30-35goal scorer
Idk who’d play RW on that line, but say it’s Dadonov
Think about the better return you’d get for him at the deadline with increased production.... that would help make up for all you’d have to give up to get him
Also.... think about how much more productive your 2nd line would be with the other teams’ top defensive players focused on Eichel’s line
Stutzle-Norris-Batherson could turn into even more productive players in that circumstance, which would be great for you guys
U still might not wanna give up all it would take to get him,
but Eichel would likely put u guys in the playoffs if the goaltending holds up
Sure, in a scenario where Ottawa can Add Eichel, while still keeping Chabot, Stützle, Tkachuk, Batherson and Norris, you have to look at it, but there's just no world where that's the case.
Would have to be a pure future deal which I doubt would be super appealing to Buffalo.
It would have to be something like Sanderson, Pinto, Greig, Bernard-Docker this years 1st and next year's as well. Maybe Brannstrom too? don't think you get there with purely picks and prospects, and even in this situation, you're still crippling your ability to be competitive, because you're absolutely gutting the entire future of the blueline.
I've spent a
lot of time thinking about this over the last 18 months or so with all the Eichel trade talk. For what I think a player of Eichel would cost, I just can't see a way for Ottawa to get it done without putting themselves a couple years behind where the need to be either in terms of the blueline or the forwards. I mean maybe I'm way over estimating what it takes to get Him, in which case have at er, but I don't think I am.
As it stands, I don't think Ottawa is that far from being a playoff bound team, provided they stay the course and have patience. The 1C question is still a little up in the air, but I think the answer is within reach, either with Stützle or possibly a guy like Matt Beniers who I think would be the best centre on this team. He might not be that stud number 1 like Eichel, but I think he can be a 1C when you have two really strong Cs behind like Norris and Pinto, as well as elite talent on the wings like Stützle, Tkachuk and Batherson.