Rumor: LA Kings making trade offer for Jack Eichel

The LA Kings found out earlier this week that they'll be drafting #2 overall at the 2020 NHL Draft. With a deep draft loaded with high-end talent, the Kings will be able to select a prospect who could come in and develop into a cornerstone of their franchise. Or, as one NHL executive put it, they could swing a huge deal and kick-start their 're-tooling' with a former #2 overall pick.

The Kings have reportedly been in touch with the Buffalo Sabres to see if there is any interest moving captain, Jack Eichel. An NHL employee close to Kings, GM Rob Blake had this to say today about the possible trade scenarios with the #2 pick:

It's not often you have a trade chip like a second overall pick, especially in an intriguing draft like this year. Look for Rob Blake to make some calls to see how other teams are valuing the pick, to get a sense of what kind of package the Kings could get back. Names like Eichel have been mentioned around here, because of the non-playoff chatter, but time will tell once the chips fall where they may with the other team(s). It's so different this year, GM's are going to have to be creative. 

The kicker here is Jack Eichel does not have trade protection in his contract, which seems unusual given his elite play. Eichel's name has been linked to the Boston Bruins as well, however, moving a superstar is tough enough, moving him in the same division or conference is borderline stupid. The Kings could offer the #2 pick, along with top-prospect and former first-rounder, Gabriel Vilardi, and also include someone like Jeff Carter to help make the money work.

This year has been strange to say the least and having non-playoff teams being able to make trades has thrown a new wrinkle into the trade chatter. It's ramping up, sure, but we wouldn't expect a blockbuster like this to go down until the night of the Draft.

Let's drop the puck already...

via GIPHY

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