Quote:
Originally Posted by GranteedEV
Almost as if one guy is a #2 center at best (and probably not a center on a cup contender at all) and the other guy is an elite #1 center who would immediately become the most talented player in franchise history.
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Alright, slow down there. Niewendyk, MacInnis, Makarov, Iginla and Fleury off the top of my head.
A herniated disk in his neck is a big injury. The fact that the Sabres might have stood in the way of surgery both indicates that they were aware that his value and production would drop after recovery. I agree that 85% of Eichel is still the best player on the Flames, but he will never reach the top five most talented in the franchise due to this injury. It reduces physical ability.
I'm sure that teams and GMs know this, and would make their offers accordingly. Some of the discussioni is way out of the bounds of reality. Tkachuk plus Valimaki is probably better than what the Rangers (Kakko and Lundqvist) or LA (Vilardi and Madden) would offer. The likes of Fox and Byfield are off the board.
I'm sure that Buffalo is kicking itself for treating the player so poorly.