I still hope we get eichel if he can be had for a bargain. Everyone loves to say how rare it is to be able to trade for young, top centres in this league. Part of the reason is the cost would be too high. As others have stated, if you gut your team of valuable roster players, prospects and picks to acquire a single player who could be out for the whole season, you’re taking a huge gamble. Eichel only makes sense if the cost to acquire him is diminished due to his serious injury concerns, his surgery that will keep him out of the line up, the fact that he has publicly stated he wants out of Buffalo, and the fact that it will have been at least 1.5 years without him playing a single nhl game.
My hope is that the deal is virtually all futures/prospects. The flames can then trade tkachuk in the offseason to replenish some of those assets. It gives this team a great opportunity this year if eichel comes in healthy close to playoffs (pull a kucherov). If it’s looking like he is going to be ready early (before cap relief from playoffs or injuries to roster players), they could then trade players like Monahan and Zadorov to contenders to make room for eichel. There seems to always be a market for centres and defensemen at the trade deadline so I think the flames would be able to still get value for them then.
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