Jack Eichel took a no-sweat approach in the lead-up to signing a monster extension. With the perennial-contender Knights happy to open the purse strings, why wouldn’t he?
It's been more than 50 years since Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was published. So it should be recognized by now that, in spite of its title, the content has little to do with Zen Buddhism. But if you’ll permit the reference, we submit that a post-playing career Jack Eichel could write his own version of the seminal novel. Working title? Zen and the Art of Contract Negotiation.
Indeed, as Eichel entered this season on the precipice of unrestricted free agency and staring down a monster payday, he seemingly did so with an ease and calm reserved for monks and the heavily sedated. It surely helped that Eichel has more than $70 million in career earnings with another cool $10 million on the way this season. Still, it speaks to the 29-year-old’s approach – and confidence – that, ahead of the campaign, he met questions about negotiations with what bordered on nonchalance. “You can only control so much, right?” Eichel said. “And that’s sort of been my mindset. What are the things that I focus on? Preparing for the season, getting my mind and body in the best place to be successful and help our hockey team, and that’s more so my focus. Anything else sort of takes care of itself when you do your job well.”
And by any possible measure, Eichel has excelled in Vegas. Just check the resume.
Between his debut as a Golden Knight on Feb. 16, 2022 – almost four months after he was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres – and the end of 2024-25, Eichel has been among the NHL’s leading scorers. His 100 goals were 49th-most over that span, his 253 points tied for 36th-most, and his 1.05 points per game put him clear of all but 24 others. Eichel also helped Vegas to a Stanley Cup, and he did so by posting a playoff-best 26 points. Add to it top-five Hart, Selke and Lady Byng Trophy voting finishes, and Eichel has clear-cut credentials as one of the league’s elite.
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What’s frightening, though, is that Eichel seems to be getting better. Case in point: that trio of top-five award finishes? Those came last season, which so happened to be the same campaign in which Eichel posted a career-best 94 points and finished eighth in NHL scoring. He proved himself the kind of complete player who elevates not just the attack, which has long been his calling card, but a two-way force who helps Vegas dominate every inch of the ice.
So, he’s done his job well. And well enough that his contract did, in a manner of speaking, basically take care of itself. Because while there’s no doubt his agent, Pat Brisson, and Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon did have a dialogue about the exact structure and salary of Eichel’s new pact, the process itself was over in relatively short order.
How short? Well, on the day Vegas opened the 2025-26 season, with Eichel 82 games-plus-playoffs away from having the opportunity to hit the open market, Vegas announced the whopper of a contract: an eight-year, $108-million deal with a full no-movement clause. At the time of signing, it was the fifth-largest contract of the salary-cap era – and one to which Eichel was happy to lend his signature. “I said all along I wanted to be here, playing for the Vegas Golden Knights,” he told reporters. “So, really happy to get it done. So happy to continue my career here in Vegas.”
What no doubt adds to Eichel’s happiness is knowing the near future in Sin City is as bright as the recent past. Since the franchise’s inception, the Golden Knights have had an ultra-aggressive approach to improving the roster. Whether it’s been Mark Stone or Alex Pietrangelo or Eichel himself, Vegas is always a short-list destination for any high-profile free agent or trade candidate.
To wit, since Eichel’s arrival, the Golden Knights have gone big-game hunting to land the likes of Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin. And this summer, Vegas pulled off arguably its greatest coup when it executed a sign-and-trade for Mitch Marner, a move that removed the league’s top free agent from the market before he could field any other offers. Eichel was effusive with his praise for the deal. “He’s a world-class hockey player,” Eichel said. “He’s one of the smartest players in our league.”
And to Eichel’s way of thinking, as much as the term or the dollars or the clauses attached to his bank-busting deal, it’s the big swings like the Marner acquisition that made it a no-brainer to put pen to paper.
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Sure, in some circles, and among some sects of the NHL fan base, those moves have made the Golden Knights a bogeyman. But to Eichel, it makes Vegas an ideal place to play. “It’s an organization that wants to win the Stanley Cup every year,” he said. “As a player, that’s all you can ask for. We know they’re going to do what’s necessary to give us a chance to win, and it’s what I want to do, right? Continue to push to win another Stanley Cup here in Vegas. It was a huge part of my decision.”
This is an excerpt of a feature that appeared in The Hockey News' Worl Junior Championship issue. We provide scouting reports of the teams and players who will compete in the tournament, and a touch of holisay-themed content.
Elsewhere in the issue, we take a look at 2026 UFAs, and features on the PWHL, AHL, ECHL and the NCAA and more.
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