Jack Eichel's Next Move Could Be More Relevant to the Leafs Than Expected
Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel is a free agent next summer and analyst Jeff Marek wonders if he has other destinations in mind and what he might cost.
The summer of 2026 is going to be one that has all eyes focused on it as the list of free agents potentially available is the greatest crop of free agents in NHL history.
Connor McDavid, Cale Makar, Kirill Kaprizov, Kyle Connor, and Nikita Kucherov are just some of the names who could be looking for new homes on July 1 and with a rising salary cap there are going to be massive offers sent out left and right.
One potential name available next summer is Vegas' Jack Eichel, who is still without a deal and is expected to garner a huge deal in free agency. However it's a question of how much he'll get, and if he's even heading anywhere else in the first place.
Jeff Marek Weighs In on Jack Eichel's Uncertain Future
According to NHL Insider Jeff Marek, he believes that there's a very good possibility that Eichel doesnt re-up in Vegas and might be out of town. There's no real talks so far, and Marek thinks it's a season-long story:
I think we're all wondering about Jack Eichel, what is his number going to be, is it going to be in Vegas? Could he be a player that hits the market? We'll see.
There's a bunch of teams who could use Eichel's services, however one fan had a very interesting proposal that not only would be ironic, but definitely beneficial:
Leafs Fans Quickly Turn Speculation Into Toronto Debate
It would be something if Eichel decided to eschew Marner in Vegas and head to Toronto where Marner found a lack of success outside of the regular season. Bringing him in as your new 2C alongside John Tavares and William Nylander gives the team their Marner replacement; with actual playoff credentials.
Wouldn't it be fun though?
Eichel is all too familiar with Toronto, having spent the first few seasons of his career in Buffalo and the fact that he and Auston Matthews are both Americans with tons of experience playing together can only mean good things going forward.
Eichel was lights out last year with 94 points in 77 games (28 goals, 66 assists) and has 608 points in 616 games for his career.
While he has some injury concerns, it's not any different than the Leafs have with Matthews, though playing under Craig Berube isn't easy.
He won a Cup with Vegas in 2023, and has 43 points in 40 playoff games; that would put him ahead of the entire Core Four at least in terms of points per game and legitimate production.
But is Eichel enough to give them the playoff production they need especially if guys like Matthews and Tavares can't get their feet off the ground when it matters?
Nothing is guaranteed but barring the chance to get McDavid, Kucherov or Makar; Eichel is a darn good consolation prize.
TRENDING NOW
