Why Eichel's historically large contract exension looks like a major victory for the Golden Knights

Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) celebrates with Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev (49) and Vegas Golden Knights left wing Brandon Saad (20) after Eichel scores against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period of a NHL hockey game at T-Mobile Arena, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. Photo by: Wade Vandervort

Right as panic was set to ensue, the Vegas Golden Knights came to the rescue.

Hours before the start of the 2025-2026 NHL season, the club announced an eight-year, $108 million contract extension with superstar forward Jack Eichel. The deal was regarded as imminent to get done all offseason, but concerns started to surface as weeks turned to months without an agreement between the two sides.

“There’s definitely some peace of mind that comes with getting something done,” Eichel said shortly after signing the extension. “I said all along I wanted to be here.”

The 28-year-old Eichel is now locked up through the 2033-2034 season at what’s already looking like a bargain price.

That description may sound outrageous considering Eichel will make $13.5 million per year, the third-highest salary in NHL history, but he almost certainly would have made more if he became a free agent.

Part of the anxiety Golden Knights’ fans felt before Eichel signed the deal came from the Minnesota Wild inking fellow 28-year-old Kirill Kaprizov to a record-shattering eight-year, $136 million deal a week before.

Kaprizov might be a slightly more valuable player because of his elite scoring touch, but it’s debatable because of the way Eichel has soared defensively to become more well-rounded in three seasons playing under Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy. 

The two could reasonably merit near-identical contracts.

But Eichel was comfortable with giving the Golden Knights a discount, and has immediately shown what a luxury that should end up being.

Through four games of the new season, Eichel led the NHL in points with nine and sat tied for second with four goals. The only player Eichel was behind in goals was teammate Pavel Dorofeyev and the former assisted on four of the latter’s five scores.

“He’s an elite player in this league,” Cassidy said after Eichel scored a pair of goals to stage a comeback Vegas win at Calgary on October 14. “That’s what they do. It’s tough to do that every night in this league but I think it’s his mindset that (separates him) as much as anything.”

Eichel has evolved in each of his seasons in Vegas and looks to be on the path to doing it again this year. He came under a great deal of scrutiny for a lack of aggressiveness after scoring just one goal during last year’s playoff run.

But he seems to have taken the criticism to heart by attacking more frequently and selfishly to start the new campaign, averaging 4.5 shots on goal through four games as opposed to three per game last year.

He’s driving the play with new sidekick Mitch Marner, who signed an eight-year, $96 million contract with the Golden Knights in the offseason. Marner’s contract will expire one year before Eichel’s—who’s playing out the last season in his previous deal this year—but that gives the duo nearly a decade to play together.

The appeal of that setup was no small factor in Eichel’s desire to stay with the Golden Knights.

“It’s an organization that wants to win the Stanley Cup every year and, as a player, that’s all you can ask for,” Eichel said. “As a player, we know they’re going to do what’s necessary to give us a chance to win. It’s what I want to do, continue to push to win another Stanley Cup here in Vegas.”

Eichel finished fifth in Hart Trophy voting last season—the NHL’s equivalent of a Most Valuable Player award—and could top that this year if not outright win the honor. Any player mentioned in that conversation could hold out and test the open market if their motivation rested solely in landing the most money.

But that’s not Eichel, and it’s to the benefit of a Golden Knights franchise that will now have more room to operate around the NHL’s rising salary cap for years to come.

“He deserves every penny,” Cassidy said. “He’s grown as a player here, so for me, as a coach … it’s a real privilege to coach players like that and see them get better in every area of their game. I’m happy he’s a Golden Knight and I’m sure our fanbase is too. I know our organization and all the guys in the room are.”

This story originally appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.