The Vegas Golden Knights have a way of getting the best players to head to the Sin City.
Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner are both prime examples, but they’re at different points in their Vegas life cycles. Marner just signed the big contract (in a sign-and-trade with Toronto), so he’s there for the long run.
Eichel, though, is entering the final year of his deal. That aligns with Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, also entering the final year of his current contract.
Neither superstar has an extension yet.
What if McDavid takes Eichel’s place?
That’s the question posed in a recent Bleacher Report article. Here’s the thinking from B/R:
A good rule of thumb to follow in the NFL is that if a top-line player becomes available, just assume the Vegas Golden Knights are going to figure out a way to squeeze their way into it. They always do.
Salary cap? What salary cap?! They’ll figure it out later.
There is some added intrigue here because Vegas’ top player, Jack Eichel, is also set to enter the final year of his contract, while Mark Stone only has two years remaining on his deal.
In other words: Vegas could potentially have a lot of money coming off the books in in the near future, and it may need to land another superstar.
Eichel is great. He helped Vegas win a Stanley Cup. But when has loyalty ever been a thing for the Golden Knights? This is the most cutthroat, win-at-all-costs organization in the NHL.
If there is even a small chance that McDavid could be available, they’ll likely be plotting a way to get involved.
It’d certainly shake up the entire NHL if the Golden Knights essentially swapped McDavid in for Eichel.
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It’s tough to imagine the money working for them to have both.
So if this happened, then Eichel would be available as a super high-profile free agent, too.
As far as glamour, this is definitely near the top of the list for McDavid. Would he ever go to Vegas? The longer he goes without an extension, the more people will start asking that very question.
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