Jack Eichel

[StanStanley]

A pooler offers me this :

Jack Eichel
Connor McMichael
4th overall(probably could draft Quinn Hugues)

Vs

Andrei Svechnikov
Miro Heiskanen
19th overall

Eichel is good but very unsure. This is a points only pool.

Would you make this trade and give a chance to Eichel?

[sweetcelly]

I don't know how Quinn Hughes is available 4th overall!? If that is the case I would take this deal. If however you mean Luke Hughes, then no I would pass on this.

[StanStanley]

This is Quinn Hugues. Two poolers left so their players are available.

[sweetcelly]

This is Quinn Hugues. Two poolers left so their players are available.

I would do it. It is a gamble, but not alot of chances to get this caliber of player come up. Word is that if he gets traded and has the surgery soon, he could be ready to go by the start of the season. It is alot to give up with Svech and Heisk, but you have to give something to get.

[Feenom]

Hate to give up Svech but if you are getting Quinn then I would also take the dice and roll’em. Good luck

[Grapes]

Full keeper, partial keeper, positions matter or not, # of teams, would be nice to know.

But in straight points only given the two groupings, Eichel / Hughes side for me.

[Bubba55]

I have to admit this one makes me pretty nervous. Well, very nervous. There is a considerable amount of risk associated with making this move IMO.

Lets start with Eichel. No one except those close to this situation know what is actually happening and they sure aren't going to the media to tell all. What we do know is that we have a player with a herniated disk that requires surgery and that the surgery for whatever reasons has not yet happened. That's a bit bizarre. We know that Eichel has been on the market for quite some time yet the situation remains unchanged, no NHL GM is willing to pay whatever price the Sabres are asking. Put another way, no GM is willing to go out on the limb and pay a big price when they obviously have serious concern over what they are actually buying. Can't blame them. Is it wise for fantasy GM's to do otherwise? Maybe not.

Are you 100% sure that the 4th brings Hughes to your team? If the answer is no, well, that's not so good. If the answer is yes absolutely, then let's talk about that. If you consider Quinn to be a big upgrade on Heiskanen then fine, but I'm not so sure about that either. The Stars did not hand Heiskanen a massive long term contract only to deploy him in what amounts to a time share with Klingberg. At some point, and likely sooner rather than later Klingberg will be moved and Heiskeanen will be, hands down, the guy in big D. With that kind of deployment, how much better will Hughes be? Will he be better? That's a bit risky.

The last big piece to this is of course Svechnikov. At the age of 21, he has already put up seasons of .76 and .90 pts/game. That's a wee bit impressive. Once he actually starts shaving, what is he capable of as a mainstay on one of the best forward lines in the league? How much better, assuming Eichel returns fully to form (somewhere??) will he be compared to Svechnikov? I'm not convinced there will be a significant amount of difference there either.

Finally, what will that 19th overall return? How much better is McMichael than that? I'm not a fan I'll admit and I see McMichael as a throw in to sweeten the deal. I just don't have a sweet tooth.

Summarized, you have some awesome assets in Svech and Heiskanen that you don't need to move and certainly you don't need to move them to put yourself in a position where you are praying hard a) you actually get Hughes and b) everything surrounding the Eichel debacle turns out in your favour. Personally, I'm not going there, I'm passing on this.

If you have a big appetite for risk, then accept, but I'm too much of a chicken shit to do that (:

[tobias]

I'm going to take McMichael and the pick out of the equation. They don't really factor in here, to me.

Without knowing more about your format or scoring, these are my thoughts (give more info in your OP in the future):

Eichel + possibly Q. Hughes for Svechnikov + Heiskanen

Two Question Marks for two, young, established talents.

- Who are some of the other players available, if Hughes is taken ahead of that spot?

- Eichel is the big elephant in the room. His health, attitude, leadership, coachability, and yes, even his durability have all been issues throughout his career. What is not an issue is his individual talent level. I'm not going to dispute that whatever.

BUT... for you to make this trade, you need several things to fall into place:

- Eichel traded (it's been a couple of months, and he still hasn't been traded = red flag!) to a desirable location (not all trades are good trades: see Laine, Patrik)
- Eichel has this surgery (that has never been done on an NHL player before), the surgery is a success, and he is able to bounce back to his pre-injury form.
- Eichel's overall game and production continues (only 1/6 seasons over 80 points)
- Eichel stays healthy (of his six seasons, he has had seasons of 61, 67, 68, and 21 GP)
- Hughes available at 4th.

IF all of those things fall into place, then this is a great deal for you. However, if they don't, this could be a disaster. Svechnikov and Heiskanen are two studs, and while they are each a notch, or two (if points only format), below what we have seen from Eichel and Hughes, they are both still tremendous, young players, who have a lot of room to continue to develop and increase their production. I'm with Bubba55 above; there is just too much risk here for me. Hughes, I have no problems with. It's with Eichel.

PS) If this is a salary cap league, then there is no way that I want Eichel.

[stevegamer]

Let's discuss the Hughes part in more depth before I answer fully. I want to see how this may play out.

Who are the top 5 guys available in the draft (assuming all from teams leaving) in addition to Hughes?

[StanStanley]

Pastrnak, Hellebuyck, Pettersson, Hugues, Carlson, Marchand, Hart are all available.

Pastrnak, Hellebuyck and Pettersson should be the top 3 IMO.

The 4th overall has a very big value but I am so unsure about Eichel. And I think Svechnikov ceiling is very high!

[Rockies & Hockeys]

I'd definitely take this trade. Cheapest you'll ever get Eichel.

[stevegamer]

Pastrnak, Hellebuyck, Pettersson, Hugues, Carlson, Marchand, Hart are all available.

Pastrnak, Hellebuyck and Pettersson should be the top 3 IMO.

The 4th overall has a very big value but I am so unsure about Eichel. And I think Svechnikov ceiling is very high!

I'm fine with that deal, then. There are enough good options that the pick has excellent value. I'm not sure Eichel will end up being the key piece of the deal.

[This Guy]

Forget McMichael and the pick, those are side-shows.

It's very tempting to go for it but the risk/reward isn't there for me.

I know it's a great time to be shopping for Eichel. but I think the risk outweighs the reward. You'd get a marginal improvement in Eichel for Svechnikov, and a bigger one in Hughes for Heiskanen. But that's only if everything goes well. If the surgery doesn't go 100% (never been done on a NHL player), or if Eichel changes his game as a result, or if he's on a new team with lousy linemates because they traded a package to get him, or (heave forbid) he stays in Buffalo, it's a big loss for you. If Hughes isn't there at 4, it's a smaller loss for you (you didn't post your roster but I'm assuming you'd need a D at that position, and Carlson is a great player but much older).

I can see the merits in going for it. But I'd rather know what I have in Svechnikov and Heiskanen.