Jack Eichel Could Return Soon Despite The Organizations Comments

The Vegas Golden Knights have consistently denied reports that newly acquired, Jack Eichel, could be close to returning. Instead, the Golden Knights organization has consistently said that Eichel is a month or two away from officially returning. However, I don’t quite feel that’s the case.

After Jack Eichel got his artificial disc surgery, it was reported that his return would be in mid-late January. That is of course, barring any setbacks post-surgery. So far there hasn’t appeared to be any, but of course the Knights are easing him back into things and keeping the media out of it.

Here’s something that should get your attention though. If a player is hurt, he will generally stay behind- correct? If there is absolutely no chance for him to play, he would not be on the road trip. Now, as a newly acquired player, I’m sure that the organization does want him to develop chemistry with the guys, but I think there’s more to it than that.

The newest Vegas Golden Knight, Jack Eichel, has already made noise in practices. After appearing a week or two ago, Eichel has been promoted from a red no-contact jersey to a baby blue jersey. So what does that mean?

Jack Eichel is a superstar around the league, and the urgency to get him back in game-action, should be high. Of course, it goes without saying that the organization should in no way rush him back.

Anyways, let’s get back on track to what I was originally saying. Eichel first appeared in a red no-contact jersey for the Knights a couple weeks back. Since that point, he’s continued to practice with the team and remained in the same jersey. That is until yesterday.

Yesterday, the Vegas Golden Knights arrived in Washington prior to their game against the Capitals tonight. During their practice, the Vegas Golden Knights twitter account released pictures from their practice. What’s the importance of that? It’s because Jack Eichel wasn’t wearing a red jersey. He was wearing a baby blue.

What does a baby blues jersey represent? Glad you asked. The red jersey stands out to the players during practice and it represents no-contact. However, based upon what I can gather, the baby blue jersey stands out and represents light contact.

So, he’s officially moved up to the next stage of rehab. After getting promoted from a red jersey, to a baby blue jersey. Hopefully we’ll get a look at him in a actually Vegas Golden Knights jersey very soon. Which is where the second part of this article comes into play.

As I stated earlier, the Vegas Golden Knights don’t generally take injured players with them on road trips unless there is a chance that he could play. Know, I understand from the organizations standpoint that you have to get Eichel time on the ice with the guys in order to develop line chemistry. However, I think it’s more than that.

Eichel’s projected timeline was to return in mid-to-late, January. As you guys know, that is pretty much where we are at. It’s currently January 24th which puts him right in the original timeline to return. So is there a chance he could actually play? Maybe. I’m not sure. However, it’s clear that the organization has lied to us before, so they could be doing it again.