New York Rangers Ready to Revisit Eichel Trade Talks

With the news that John Davidson and Jeff Gorton were removed from their roles in the New York Rangers organization, and specifically because the rebuild was taking too long, there’s talk that the Rangers are ready to make a big splash.

Elliotte Friedman recently discussed the idea of Jack Eichel as a trade target for the Rangers as they move forward with their plans to be competitive as quickly as possible. Friedman noted that owner James Dolan and new GM Chris Drury will be looking at roster changes, even though Drury spoke with the media and said he likes what the team has done and the pieces they’ve added. “We’ll look at everything,” Drury noted.

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Could we see the #NYR make a move for Jack Eichel this offseason? @FriedgeHNIC weighs in on #HockeyCentral with @JeffMarek, @jtbourne & @StuMunrue.

🎧⤵️https://t.co/K520aHwZnz pic.twitter.com/95Qd29pWM6

— Sportsnet 590 The FAN (@FAN590) May 6, 2021

As for Eichel, Friedman noted this wouldn’t be the first time the Rangers have been in the conversation. The team tried to acquire him this past offseason and made a strong enough pitch that the Buffalo Sabres actually gave it some thought. Ultimately, they decided not to go ahead with the trade and Buffalo’s season became a total disaster.

Friedman said of the Rangers interest in Eichel:

“They were in on Eichel before this. It’s not like they were afraid to go after Eichel, they made the Sabres an offer on Eichel in the offseason. It’s one that at least made the Sabres think before deciding they weren’t ready to make the move yet. I don’t think Chris Drury will be any more or less inclined to make a move for Eichel as the organization is already prepared to do that.”

Knowing the Sabres will be open to trade talks again because they badly need to shake things up, and knowing the Rangers would like to talk about Eichel during the summer, there’s likely going to be a conversation between the two teams. Greg Wyshynski of ESPN writes: “Between news of the Rangers firing Gorton and Davidson and the news that it was because the rebuild was taking too slowly, how quickly did Jack Eichel open his Zillow app?”

Would the Rangers Derail Their Rebuild for This?

The one thing that seems to be consistent when it comes to the reactions of the media, fans and other NHL GMs is that Dolan was too quick to fire Gorton and Davidson. The Rangers were on the right path under their leadership and the team was turning into something. It would be a shame if the team steered themselves off the right course to do something flashy.

Landing Eichel would not come cheap. There are also injury concerns and the cost of his contract, which is bound to affect the Rangers’ salary cap situation.

Will Dolan and Drury abandon their plan to land perhaps the biggest potential trade asset on the market this offseason? If so, is that really the best course of action? No doubt Eichel is good. But, so are some of the young assets the Rangers will have to give up to land him.

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