Adding Mitch Marner was the move the Vegas Golden Knights desperately needed. You're watching the Edmonton Oilers competing for the Stanley Cup and coming close twice. They're adding... forwards. You're also watching the Los Angeles Kings on the doorstep while... adding Cody Ceci and Corey Perry.
That's not even mentioning whatever the Seattle Kraken are doing. Ryan Lindgren and Mason Marchment? Congratulations! You're on your way to a similar fate to your baseball brethren. Hopefully, you can occupy a playoff spot one of these days with Nintendo advertisements and Jerry DiPoto.
Suddenly, everyone wants to play in Vegas and join Jack Eichel on a quest to win the Stanley Cup. Life is good if you live in Sin City, for you know the former second-overall pick is making it happen. But there's one small problem: he's a free agent after 2025-26.
You know what that means. It's time for Kelly McCrimmon to give the man a new deal. Here's another kicker. Don't expect Eichel to earn less than his new buddy on the wing.
Marner makes $12 million AAV for the next eight seasons, elevating the center's price tag in the process. Now, you should expect to pay him at least the same amount to satisfy him. But that's not the only issue you're facing.
What other problems await the Vegas Golden Knights in trying to get a Jack Eichel deal done?
After 2025-26, Eichel isn't the only free agent hitting the market. While the 4 Nations Face-Off star will be an unrestricted free agent, Pavel Dorofeyev will be a restricted free agent. That contract could also come with a hefty price tag, especially if he builds off his 35-goal season.
One would think a $3-$4 million AAV deal, while nice, wouldn't necessarily cut it for a winger aspiring to be a top-line talent. That's the case for the 24-year-old, whose shiftiness and hard shot have revolutionized the Golden Knights' offense.
But that's not the only concern. 14 of the maximum 23 roster spots will be filled by 2026-27. Considering you're not getting any help from a barren farm system (at least with wingers and centers), that's alarming.
Will Trevor Connelly be ready by that time? What about Mathieu Cataford? Chances are that neither will be ready to go (at least, currently). That makes this situation more complicated than what's on the surface.
Luckily, Kelly McCrimmon has been generous with contract extensions in recent years
The good news is that the expectation is that Jack Eichel will go nowhere after 2026 is done. Despite Marner's large $12 million cap hit, there's still plenty of room for the former second-overall pick to get his payday.
The NHL's salary cap will jump to $104 million in 2026-27, making the Eichel deal much easier. With $22.83 million in cap space for that corresponding season to spend, it makes life easier for McCrimmon to retain his best superstar.
But getting a deal done goes beyond the 2026-27 season. Mark Stone, Alex Pietrangelo, and William Karlsson are all off the books after the 2026-27 season, accounting for $24.2 million of available cap space. You can fill specific voids with that space, whether it's down the middle or on the blue line.
Golden Knights fans are in good hands when it comes to their American superhero. McCrimmon has demonstrated a solid track record of retaining key pieces and proving the skeptics wrong. That will apply here before next summer, where Eichel gets what he's due in his next deal.
Personally, I'm not concerned about Eichel not getting his new contract. He's grown into the Las Vegas community and embraced it as his own. Sometimes, that's all it takes to become a superstar player. I'm certain a particular member of the group formerly known as the "Core Four" understands this.