Flames offering Tkachuk, four other pieces to Sabres in Eichel sweepstakes: report

The Calgary Flames may be getting closer to acquiring star Buffalo Sabres forward @Jack Eichel.

According to ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, the Flames’ offer to Buffalo for Eichel includes forward @Matthew Tkachuk, an upcoming first-round draft selection, a player recently drafted in the first round, and two additional prospects.

Eichel has five seasons remaining (including this one) on a contract with an annual cap hit of $10 million. Yesterday, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported both the finalists in the sweepstakes — Calgary and the Vegas Golden Knights — will allow Eichel to undergo an artificial disk replacement surgery to correct an issue with his neck.

The Flames currently have all their future first-round picks. The former first-round picks in the organization include Matthew Coronato, @Connor Zary, @Jakob Pelletier, @Juuso Valimaki, and even roster players like @Sean Monahan, @Nikita Zadorov, and @Erik Gudbranson.

Notable prospects in the Flames’ system include centre @Adam Ruzicka (CGY 2017 4th), goaltender @Dustin Wolf (CGY 2019 7th), wingers @Matthew Phillips (CGY 2016 6th), Emil Heineman (FLA 2020 2nd), and William Stromgren (CGY 2021 2nd), and defencemen Yan Kuznetsov (CGY 2020 2nd) and Jeremie Poirier (CGY 2020 3rd).

Tkachuk, 23, has four goals and six points in nine games with the Flames this season. He’s in the final year of a contract worth $7 million per season but will need to be tendered a one-year, $9 million qualifying offer in the summer of 2022 if he’s not signed to an extension before that time.