NHL insider reveals the Rangers' offer for Jack Eichel.

There is no question that the pressure has been mounting on the Buffalo Sabres to get a deal done that will send their captain, star forward Jack Eichel, to a new team. The Sabres and Eichel have been engaged in a heated dispute over medical treatment for some time now, and a statement released by Eichel's agents over the week left no uncertain terms about their client's desire to leave the Sabres.

As a result there is an expectation that trade talks will once again pick up steam with Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams effectively being on the hot seat, but that could also mean that rival teams will be stepping up their offers in order to get the deal over the line before it's too late. The latest on this front comes courtesy of New York Rangers insider Larry Brooks who laid out a big offer the Rangers could make Eichel, but only under the condition that Buffalo would retain 50% of Eichel's cap hit in a trade. Brooks believes that Rangers general manager Chris Drury would then be in a position to extend veteran centerman Mika Zibanejad on a long term contract, giving the Rangers a serious 1-2 punch up the middle of the ice.

According to Brooks in this scenario Drury would have the green light to make the Rangers the following offer:

- 20 year old forward Kaapo Kakko, the 2nd overall pick at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft

- 21 year old centerman Filip Chytil, the 21st overall pick at the 2017 NHL Entry draft or 21 year old forward Vitali Kravtsov, the 9th overall pick at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

- One of 20 year old defenseman Zac Jones, picked 68th overall at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, 20 year old defenseman Matthew Robertson, selected 49th overall at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, or a first round draft pick.

This could effectively work out to be a whopping three first round picks for the Buffalo Sabres, but of course that will depend on how much value they see in the Rangers prospect pool. I suspect that the idea of retaining 50% of Eichel's salary might be too tough a pill for the Sabres to swallow, but it's not like they intend to field a competitive team in the near future if they are trading away the best player they have had in years.