imo buffalo should ask for one of suzuki or caufield, in addition to maybe KK/romanov and a few 1sts

Agree - if Kotkaniemi is switched to either Suzuki or Caufield, i think this can be a done deal

Just guessing here... both of you have not read the description of the team.. Eichel has yet to be moved, maybe teams are refusing the high price Buffalo are asking for him and know Buffalo will need to keep on a player that doesn't want to play for them for another year. Hence, the price is going down. At that rate, Suzuki and Caufield are out of the play for a trade.

In theory, yes. But in reality, I think it takes a massive overpay to get Eichel from a divisional rival

These trade proposals are all pretty similar and the general consensus is that Montreal doesn't trade Suzuki and Buffalo doesn't trade without Suzuki or Caulfield.

KK, Caulfield, and a 1st is the best I would offer, along with some salary (probably Byron). But I'd at least want protection on the pick if Eichel is going for a surgery that hasn't been performed on a player before. (Minimum number of games this year.)

What we don't know is how bad is the relationship between the team and Eichel. If he's going to start the year with a chip on his shoulder, you're going to pay a guy 10M$ to play at a lower capacity.. Not by choice, just by being pissed. They may want to start fresh with new players and if teams aren't responding to their demands.. Demands will shrink hence no Suzuki, Caufield or Romanov, but 2X 1st round picks.

We all know he could be worth more than that, but if Buffalo are stuck and see teams signing new players right and left, they may take what's on the table.

Sure, but I just think MTL needs to blow BUF away. For example, if ANA and MTL have similar offers on the table, the Sabres are sending him to SoCal where he won't be lighting them up 5x a season.

True. Now we just wait to see if any team would offer enough. What keeps me wondering is that both KK and Lehk have yet to sign new deals at this time. Something's up. Maybe not for Eichel, but something seems to be off. These files should've been closed before UFA season... If they aren't, then it may may mean they are trying to work something out to move them.

RFA negotiations tend to take some time. GM's are typically preoccupied with the draft and UFA as soon as the league calendar flips to a new year.

I believe Lehkonen has arb rights, so that deal should be settled sometime in mid August. The Kotkaniemi deal will be interesting, likely depends on what the term ends up being. Habs probably want to get him on a long term deal, the player likely wants short term