Could the Flyers acquire Jack Eichel?
By Nick Butler
Pierre LeBrun of the Athletic mentioned yesterday that the Philadelphia Flyers are among a list of teams that make sense as landing spots if Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel is traded this offseason.
Eichel is one of the NHL’s premier players on a team that is the biggest abomination that has ever hit the ice. The Sabres have had chance after chance after chance to fix their problems but fail to take advantage of high first-round round picks. Their multitude of failures has led to four different head coaches over the course of Eichel’s career.
Eichel’s Offensive Force
Eichel, the 24-year-old from North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, stands at 6’2″ and 203 lbs. He is a physical center with speed to match. Scoring seems to come easy for the young superstar. He has 139 goals and 216 assists in 375 career games.
A neck injury kept Eichel out of the lineup from March through the end of the regular season in 2020-21. He finished with two goals and 16 assists in 21 games. He had a negative plus/minus rating for the fifth time in six seasons in Buffalo. During the 2019-20 season, he was at the top of his game scoring 36 goals and recording 42 assists in 68 games.
Eichel averaged 20:30 on the ice this season, and he finished with an outstanding 63% Corsi For percentage (CF%). On the defensive end of the ice, he had 15 blocked shots and handed out 20 hits. He had more starts on his shifts in the offensive end, which is expected from a player of his offensive caliber.
He is currently signed at 8 years/$80 million. After this upcoming season, he has a no movement clause until his contract expires after the 2025-26 season.
Flyers Chances to Land Eichel
If a deal for Eichel is at all possible, the Flyers will have to have some of their big contracts moved. Just like with a potential acquisition of defenseman Seth Jones, a trade would be more likely if one of the expensive contracts of Jakub Vorachek, James van Riemsdyk, or Shayne Gostisbehere is selected in the expansion draft. You will also need to trade another one of those players in order to make this move and still have some cap space in order to resign other players.
Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher should potentially look at grabbing defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen from the Sabres as well if he is available. A package for both players would have to contain considerable value for Buffalo, but the end goal will be absolutely worth it.
A player like Eichel alone will cost this years first and second round picks, an established center, and a prospect or two. The payout will be a 30 goal scorer from a season ago and a top center who can play on either power play unit as well.
If Fletcher has a chance for Jack Eichel, he better make that push.