New Vegas Golden Knights teammates Mitch Marner and superstar Jack Eichel are expected to create magic in Sin City.
With the Toronto Maple Leafs, Marner played alongside centers Tyler Bozak, Nazem Kadri, John Tavares and Auston Matthews. Many of them had career seasons, goal-scoring-wise, playing next to the skilled playmaker. After the Golden Knights acquired Marner in a sign-and-trade with the Leafs before NHL free agency, the star is expected to boost Eichel in a similar fashion.
James van Riemsdyk and Bozak set career highs in points in their final two seasons with the Maple Leafs, playing next to Marner. Van Riemsdyk also set a career high in goals, scoring 36. Tavares had his best goal-scoring season playing primarily next to Marner, recording 47 goals in his first season with the Leafs and finishing third in the Rocket Richard race, four goals back of Alex Ovechkin.
Marner’s playmaking talents made him the main setup man for Matthews, who’s won the Rocket Richard Trophy three times and scored 69 goals, a tally that hadn’t been hit since Mario Lemieux scored 69 times in 1995-96.
Heading to Vegas, it would be shocking if Eichel doesn’t obliterate his career high of 36 goals. Looking at the early betting odds for the Rocket Richard, Eichel is listed at 201.00 odds on BetMGM, so he’s not much of a front-runner at the moment.
Although Eichel and Matthews are different players, Eichel has all the makings of a 50-goal scorer if he changes his mindset.
Throughout his career, Eichel has been more of a playmaker. He loves to skate the puck in transition, looking to draw in defenders before sliding the puck to one of his wingers. In the offensive zone, he’s constantly looking for passing lanes to make cross-ice passes.
That said, the 28-year-old had 56 shots in high-danger areas last season, which ranks him in the 84th percentile of NHLers, according to NHL Edge. He scored 12 goals in high-danger areas, which puts him in the 81st percentile. There’s no doubt his 21.4 shooting percentage (51st percentile) could improve with Marner by his side.
Eichel’s wrist shot and one-timer are among the NHL’s elite. Both releases are heavy and accurate, but he tends to take them from areas where he’s less likely to beat goaltenders but force rebounds. Playing with Marner will change that. Marner’s ability to draw in defenders and almost force his linemates to move into high-danger areas will create more opportunities for Eichel and improve his shot efficiency.
Matthews’ goal-scoring instincts are rivalled by few. Eichel, as great of an overall player as he is, thinks and plays the game differently than Matthews, but that doesn’t rule him out as someone who can compete and win the Rocket Richard.
Matthews projects to be his biggest competition. If Matthews is healthy, he can score 50-plus goals playing next to anyone. Outside of Matthews, Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrnak and Kirill Kaprizov pose the most significant threats.
Golden Knights' Jack Eichel Puts The Heart In Hockey
As the season quickly approaches for the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vegas-golden-knights">Golden Knights</a>, star center and alternate captain Jack Eichel has made the most of his off season by hosting his third <a href="https://je9hockeycamp.com/">JE9 premier youth hockey camp</a>.
Eichel has never played with any player like Marner throughout his career, someone with Marner’s vision and ability to drive play. Taking some of those responsibilities off Eichel should improve the goal-scoring numbers for the former second overall pick in the 2015 NHL draft.
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