Connor McDavid's Edmonton Oilers have been a perennial playoff contender for at least the past four seasons, whereas Jack Eichel's Buffalo Sabres didn't make the postseason once during his tenure in New York — but that all changed when he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in late 2021.
On Tuesday night, the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft won a Stanley Cup before the No. 1 selection, a feat that few expected when the Oilers and Sabres went on completely different trajectories after both superstars were drafted nearly a decade ago.
But it was the American who had the last laugh, helping his Golden Knights capture their first title in just the franchise's sixth year in the National Hockey League.
It was Vegas who defeated Edmonton in six games in the Western Conference semifinals, before rolling over the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final and simply outplaying the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Golden Knights were one of the best teams in the league before they acquired Eichel, and afterwards, they were near unstoppable. That was proven at T-Mobile Arena in Game 5, as the Knights destroyed the Panthers 9-3 to win a ring in front of the home crowd.
Naturally, Twitter absolutely let McDavid have it after Eichel won a Stanley Cup before him:
Stanley Cups:
Jack Eichel — 1
Connor McDavid — 0 pic.twitter.com/cmLiHPliZX
— Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) June 14, 2023
guess that's mcdavid vs eichel settled then
— Hannah Stuart (@HockeywthHannah) June 14, 2023
Jack Eichel went from 0 playoff games to winning a cup before Connor McDavid.
— Nathan Rudolph (@DNVR_Rudo) June 14, 2023
Connor McDavid watching Jack Eichel win a cup in his first appearance like pic.twitter.com/wrBYCjyJl2
— Jake 💀 (@_JRobles71) June 14, 2023
Right now Oilers regret drafting McDavid over Eichel.
Eichel is a winner unlike McDavid.
— Taj (@taj1944) June 14, 2023
The Connor McDavid vs Jack Eichel narrative pic.twitter.com/COkqaiJwOa
— Dee (@DeeviouslyDee) June 14, 2023
#LetsGoOilers fans seeing Jack Eichel win a cup before Connor McDavid pic.twitter.com/m0dE3PZX1V
— Adam Kamara (@adamkamara) June 14, 2023
Jack Eichel winning a cup before Connor McDavid is absolutely hilarious
— Paul Ross (@RealPaulRoss) June 14, 2023
Eichel gets a cup before McDavid.
Maybe we won the lottery… pic.twitter.com/NEY0zsgXge
— Buffalo Sports Talk (@BUFSportsTalk) June 14, 2023
Undoubtedly, Connor McDavid is a better player than Jack Eichel. But all that matters in professional hockey is Stanley Cups, and Eichel now has McDavid beat on that front.
The Western Conference is going to be electric for the next few seasons, and this probably isn't the last playoff matchup we see between McDavid's Oilers and Eichel's Golden Knights.
But it's now an uphill battle as the game's best player tries to finally get over the hump and accomplish what Jack Eichel did on Tuesday night.