LAS VEGAS – As the Vegas Golden Knights open their 2025-26 season tonight against the Los Angeles Kings, the spotlight is fixed on star center Jack Eichel. While his new on-ice partnership with winger Mitch Marner promises offensive fireworks, a significant off-ice storyline looms: Eichel’s unresolved contract status.
Entering the final season of the eight-year deal he signed with Buffalo in 2017, Eichel is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. With recent extensions for stars like Connor McDavid and Kirill Kaprizov, he could emerge as the most coveted player on the market. Eichel, however, was quick to dismiss the idea that ongoing negotiations between his agent, Pat Brisson, and the team would become a distraction.
“My job as a player is just to play hockey, be a good teammate, and be ready to play, and all of the other stuff takes care of itself,” he said Tuesday.
Eichel has also expressed a strong desire to remain in Vegas, where he has rewritten his career narrative. Since leading the Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup in 2023, he has flourished into one of the NHL’s elite two-way centers under coach Bruce Cassidy, setting a career-high and franchise-record 94 points last season.
Expectations are now amplified by the arrival of Marner, who signed an eight-year, $96 million contract in July. The chemistry between the two is the most anticipated development for the Golden Knights this season.
“He’s a superstar player and he’s really easy to read off,” Eichel said. “We’re just trying to figure each other’s tendencies out.”
Marner echoed that sentiment, noting their progress. “We’re finding out where each other like to be in all three zones. We’re slowly getting better at finding each other in good spots, and I think it’s only going to grow.”
Their shared ability to control the puck is expected to define the top line’s identity. “Both of us like to have the puck on our stick, so the first thing I think about is possession,” Eichel said. This potential for puck dominance is supported by player-tracking data, which shows both players have consistently ranked among the league’s top forwards in offensive zone time over the past four seasons.
Having already shown flashes of brilliance in preseason action, the duo has earned the full confidence of their coach. “I’m hoping they’re dangerous every time they’re on the ice, because they have it in them offensively,” Cassidy said. “There’s never a worry for me about who the matchup is on the other side.”
With two elite playmakers on one line, a key question is who will be the primary shooter. Cassidy believes that will resolve itself naturally. “They need to be shooters,” he said. “Somebody has to shoot the puck.”
Despite the pressure of a contract year, Eichel is focused on the excitement of a new season. “This is an unbelievable time of year. You feel like a kid on the first day of school or Christmas,” he said. “A new season has so many possibilities.”
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