New York Rangers pushed hard after Jack Eichel this offseason

Anthony Scultore |

Jan 28, 2021

Jack Eichel smiles after getting his first on the year (Photo by Sara Schmidle/NHLI via Getty Images)

The New York Rangers and Jack Eichel have been linked in the NHL Rumor Mill for quite awhile. That was only reinforced when one of hockey’s top insiders, Bob McKenzie confirmed they called about him this past offseason.

The messaging out of BUF is Sabres aren’t shopping Eichel, there’s no real desire to trade him, but since Kevyn Adams became new GM several clubs have called about Eichel’s availability. NYR believed to be one of the teams that called. So calls were made; calls were taken.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) September 28, 2020

Rangers went after Eichel hard during the offseason

Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic noted in a recent mailbag article that, “the Rangers made a hard push on Jack Eichel last summer, but ultimately, couldn’t get anything done.”

This isn’t surprising since it’s no secret that the Rangers want to add another star center to the roster. They have Mika Zibanejad but would love an upgrade over Ryan Strome. This prompted me to write about the possibility of a Jack Eichel trade to the Rangers all the way back in April of 2020.

According to Duhatschek, Eichel’s future in Buffalo is more dependent on how the Sabres do this year and if they can keep Taylor Hall. If things go in the wrong direction, as many suspect, he could demand a trade.

If that were to happen, Jeff Gorton would undoubtedly make another try for the young star. Let’s not forget, David Quinn has a history with Eichel and would jump at the chance to coach him again.

Growing belief that if Eichel traded, he ends up with the Rangers

The Athletic’s Craig Custance sent out a survey to 21 player agents back in November to ask a variety of questions. He did so on the condition of anonymity in order to elicit unfiltered responses.

“Jack Eichel,” one anonymous agent said is very likely to be traded. “He’s an interesting one. At some point, he’s just going to say, enough. Buffalo and losing is not fun.”

So could the 24 year-old pivot get dealt this upcoming season? New Sabres GM, Kevyn Adams said he’s listening but has no intention of trading Eichel. Here’s the rub, it’s not solely because they don’t want to, it’s also because they paid him to play already this season, shelling out a $7 million signing bonus check.

The growing talk around NHL circles is that if Eichel does get traded the most likely destination is going to be the New York Rangers. They have the right amount of NHL talent and high end prospects to get it done.