There is no “We Don’t Want You!” songs from the Garden crowd targeted Jack Eichel on Tuesday night, the way Rick Nash was once serene when he came to town in his blue jackets a week before the 2012 trading deadline.
In fact, there was, from time to time, somewhat weakly, “We want Eichel” to sing from the audience, which was 1,800 strong for the Rangers match against the Sabers, not that the Blueshirts hierarchy held a referendum throughout their 3-2 victory.
Not that something that happened in it, that opened with an explosion and then crawled to an extended completion in which Blueshirts sent three shots on the net in the last 30:28, would alter the dynamics of a possible Eichel megatrade in New York.
Because, yes, the Rangers want it too.
For a few moments, however, he appeared as if Eichel, an unhappy 24-year-old center-back who wants to leave Buffalo while working in his sixth year without a playoff performance in the second overall pick in the draft in In 2015, he served as a motivation for Mika Zibanejad, whose position as a Ranger would be in danger if Eichel arrived in Manhattan.
Zibanejad, who came into the game with a five-to-five point to take 166th place and the last of the NHL strikers with at least 235:00 play, threw Pavel Buchnevich for a half-break on which the wing turned to just 28 points. seconds into the match for a 1-0 lead.
Then, after Sabers equalized 27 seconds later in a play that Eichel took over to assist, Zibanejad’s forecheck created a turnover that triggered a sequence that Alexis Lafreniere earned credit for. from 2-1 to 2:36.
Two exchanges for the Zibanejad line and two goals. I can’t do better than that. Unfortunately, this was quite a lot for the unit from an offensive point of view, not that the rest of the team managed to do much, except for Chris Kreider’s left arrows at 9:32 in the second period for a lead. of 3-1.
Indeed, Zibanejad finished just 16:36 ahead of time, his smallest ice complement in a full game since January 4, 2019. Gone, at least for now, are the days when coach David Quinn relies on Zibanejad 23 minutes a night.
Here’s the thing. Given the boundary constraints, it’s essentially impossible for the Rangers to host both Eichel, the bright new apple they’re at least semi-greedy for, and Zibanejad. It will be or / or … or, maybe not in the not so distant future, if the first 20 games are an accurate description of what the Swede has become.
If Kevyn Adams, Buffalo’s first-year general manager, wants to move his team captain before the April 12 deadline, rather than wait until the end of the season, it would be almost impossible for the jeans to come into action unless in which he might somehow take care of Zibanejad. , which has a full motionless clause.
The 24-year-old Eichel, whose season has not been extremely successful while surrounded by a dysfunction that has been a permanent companion since Sabers last qualified for the postseason in 2011, still has five years with a fixed cost contract of USD 10 million per. It’s expensive, all right, but at least Rangers – or any team they buy – won’t have to deal with refereeing or a potential free agency for the next half decade.
The cost will be crucial, as Blueshirts ponder how much they are willing to send Buffalo’s path in exchange for a pin no doubt in the middle. The rangers thought they were studying in Zibanejad, but this season’s death made it essentially impossible for the club to extend its contract this summer a year before the free agency. In other words, a long-term frontline center is needed.
Not many franchise players are traded at such a young age. Tyler Seguin was just 21 when he (and Rich Peverley) left the Bruins for the Stars after his third year in exchange for veteran Louie Eriksson and a handful of pieces, but he hadn’t settled down at the time. Nash was 28 when he came to the Rangers (with a third-round player who became Buchnevich) in exchange for Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon and a first-rounder.
Indeed, the last franchise player traded at such a young age was Joe Thornton, who left the Bruins for the Sharks at the age of 26 in exchange for one of the thinnest packages of all time, with Boston receiving Brad Stuart. , Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau.
Where do Rangers sign up for the equivalent? Oh, I get it: Fantasyland.
Blueshirts, so organizationally thin in the middle, desperately need a headliner from the first unit. Eichel, who played one season at Boston University with Quinn as coach, checks all the boxes. Swords recognize how much the Rangers want him.
But GM Rangers Jeff Gorton will not be extorted. Fans didn’t want Nash once and took him. Nine years later, fans want Eichel. We will see.