Vegas Golden Knights fans have plenty of bold takes regarding Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel. That includes Eichel being the first 100-point player in franchise history or Marner breaking the single-season assists record. Those are some fairly obvious takes that fans can agree on. But one take has plenty of Golden Knights fans talking.
The take? Mitch Marner will have a higher rating in NHL 27 than Jack Eichel. Mind you, Eichel is the team's de facto franchise face and led the Golden Knights in points last season with 90. Compare that to Marner, who had 80 points with the Golden Knights in 2025-26.
Hot take:
— KnightsMuse (@KnightsMuse_) August 17, 2026
Mitch Marner will be a higher rating than Jack Eichel in NHL 27 pic.twitter.com/TinVob4sFK
The season prior, Eichel broke two single-season franchise records. He set the franchise record for the most single-season assists (66) and the most single-season points (94). However, there's a valid point to be made about Marner having the higher rating.
Marner notched 102 points (27 goals and 75 assists) in 2024-25 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Both the assists total and the points total would've been franchise records with the Golden Knights. On top of that, Marner would've been the first 100-point player in Golden Knights history if he achieved that mark with Vegas.
But it goes beyond that. Look at last postseason, where the Golden Knights winger didn't just lead the team in points (29). He led the entire NHL in postseason points. Suddenly, that narrative about Marner not being a playoff performer goes out the window (that is, unless Maple Leafs fans want to move the goalposts yet again).
Why Vegas Golden Knights winger Mitch Marner getting a high rating than Jack Eichel makes perfect sense
Last postseason, Eichel seemed a little... off. It might've been the wear-and-tear of the regular season and the Olympics that did him in. It might've been secret injuries that hampered his production down the stretch. But one thing was certain: the Olympic gold medalist was not himself.
Granted, he didn't score too many goals during the 2023 Stanley Cup run (six). But scoring two? That's another ballgame for the Golden Knights center. Compare that to Marner, who had 10 goals during the last postseason, and the take makes even more sense.
Heck, Marner toppled that mark in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final alone. If the Golden Knights had won the Stanley Cup, the Conn Smythe trophy would've been his. It wouldn't have gone to a guy who scored two goals during that same postseason run, would it?
Plus, you must consider Eichel's past injury history. Yes, he's stayed relatively clean in the past two seasons, only missing 13 games in that span. But Marner only missed two games in that same span. That also boosts the Canadian Olympian's stock in the NHL 27 rankings.
Regardless, it doesn't matter who gets ranked higher in a video game. The Vegas Golden Knights are all about winning and artificial ratings won't do anything to boost the team's Stanley Cup hopes. That's why fans are only focused on the product on the ice!
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