The Vegas Golden Knights didn’t generate much noise this week, but that quiet still produced a few talking points - mostly centered on Jack Eichel, William Karlsson and one big-money deal out in San Jose.
For starters, fans took note of a center ranking from Harman Dayal of The Athletic that slotted Eichel and Karlsson in Tier 3 as high-end centers. That left both Golden Knights centers outside the top two tiers, which Dayal reserved for the best of the group. Whether that placement feels fair or not, it at least gave people something to argue about in an otherwise slow stretch.
Eichel, though, got a more flattering nod from Bleacher Report. The outlet projected that the Olympic gold medalist will become the first 100-point player in Golden Knights history.
That’s a big call, but it lines up with the numbers he’s already put up. Eichel owns the franchise single-season marks for points, with 94 in 2024-25, and assists, with 66 in 2024-25.
The missing piece is more goal scoring, especially on the power play, where he managed just one goal in a season.
Away from Vegas, Macklin Celebrini landed a massive five-year deal worth $18.8 million AAV to remain with the San Jose Sharks. It’s the kind of contract that underlines just how valuable he is, but it also invites the inevitable salary-cap comparison with the Golden Knights.
Mitch Marner came in at $12 million AAV, and Eichel at $13.5 million AAV, both below Celebrini’s number. That kind of spread is exactly why Kelly McCrimmon’s cap management keeps coming up - he’s built deals that look manageable in the long run.
In Other News...
Jack Eichel Is Forcing A Golden Knights Debate Fans Never Expected
Since arriving in November 2021, Jack Eichel has done just about everything the Golden Knights could have hoped for, and then some. He has become one of the franchises defining players, capped by a 94-point season in 2024-25 that set a new team single-season scoring record and reinforced how central he has been to Vegas attack.
He was also the engine of the clubs 2022-23 Stanley Cup run, leading the NHL in playoff points and putting himself in the same conversation as some of the most important names in Golden Knights history. With Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Mark Stone all part of that broader legacy, Eichels rise has quietly pushed the organization into a debate it probably never expected to have this soon. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Have Turned Sharks Rivalry Into Pure One Sided History
The Golden Knights meetings with the Sharks have long since stopped looking like a true back-and-forth rivalry. Vegas has turned the regular-season series into a rout, piling up a 31-2-5 record against San Jose and steadily building a gap that has changed the tone of every matchup between the two teams. What once looked like one of the NHLs flashiest new feuds has instead become a reminder of how quickly the balance of power can shift.
The bigger picture only sharpens the contrast. Vegas has already made multiple Stanley Cup Finals trips, while San Jose has reached that stage just once, and the difference in playoff pedigree has only added to the one-sided feel. Whether that makes the rivalry less intense or simply more lopsided is part of the debate now, but for the Golden Knights, the results have done most of the talking. [Read more 🡒]