Subscribe
Follow Us
When Jack Eichel was traded from the Buffalo Sabres to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2021, he looked far from the player who was selected No. 2 overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. After missing nearly the entire 2020-21 season with a neck injury, there was skepticism across the National Hockey League whether Eichel had what it takes to win a Stanley Cup in the league.
But that narrative has been completely turned on its head after Eichel's incredible 2022-23 campaign.
After scoring at a point-per-game clip in the regular-season, the young American turned it on in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, recording a phenomenal 26 points in 22 games and silencing the doubters by winning his first Stanley Cup.
“If I were going to sit here and tell you it didn't feel good to shut a lot of people up or prove them wrong, I'd be lying,” Eichel told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.
“It was a great opportunity for our team to do that. A lot of people wrote us off last year coming into the season having not made the playoffs the year before. And even going through the playoffs, it feels like everyone was kind of siding with every team we played against. We heard it as a group. And we used it as fire and motivation.”
Eichel and the Golden Knights dominated in the postseason, proving they were the best team in 2022-23 and earning the franchise's maiden title in the process.
Article Continues Below
The 26-year-old superstar will be regarded in a completely different light after winning a Stanley Cup in his eighth year in the league. He took the Cup to his hometown of North Chelmsford, Massachusetts this summer, and spent the day at his parents' house.
“An incredible day,” Eichel explained. “I had the opportunity to receive the Cup in my hometown. We brought it to the youth hockey rink where I learned to play hockey and we had so many fans and supporters and people in the community come by. That was really cool.”
Eichel told LeBrun it's the happiest he's been in a long time. Away from the glaring, often brutal spotlight in Buffalo, and into a winning culture in Las Vegas.
With most of the roster returning to the team in 2023-24, Jack Eichel and the Golden Knights have as good a shot as any team to bring another title to the Strip next summer.
