Quoting: carterhart
If you put Eichel and Couturier side-by-side, I take Eichel instantly. Love Coots, but this is Eichel who's 23 and a bonafide superstar. Center to replace a center, and you keep more of your younger assets like Farabee and Frost who are gonna really contribute to the success of this team in coming years. There's no point in trading those guys just to keep Coots and have guys like Hayes who makes $7m on the third line, and Patrick stuffed on the 4th line.
Philly loves Coots, and always will. But if there was a deal that involved him and way less than this to get Eichel, we gotta jump on it.
I agree with all your points, but there was a player who was just as dominant if not more so than Eichel, back in the mid 00's, superstar quality, who was traded for way less due to front office management squabbles, Joe Thornton. Imagine acquiring a guy like Thornton for Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart, Wayne Primeau, and a pick.
And i quote. "Ahead of the NHL resumption in 2005–06, Thornton became a restricted free agent in summer 2005. Negotiations on a new contract were strained: Thornton was reportedly unhappy with the state of the Boston Bruins franchise, and upset with criticism of his play in the Bruins' early playoff exit in 2004.[16] He was under heavy scrutiny[by whom?] for his leadership style and was criticized[citation needed] for not raising his level of play during the playoffs."
Now granted, that may have been a fluke, but with the way things are going with Buffalo, it seems like an awfully familiar situation, less the playoff part since he never played in them so far. They may realize they're gonna lose him one way or the other and in order to get a more attractive haul, they may need to trade him with years left on his contract for value.
In my opinion, a package with Frost, Farabee, and Sanheim, with multiple firsts, is gonna be at the top of any offer they get. Not including a 3rd round big bodied net front guy like JVR, who hasn't completely lost it yet.