Golden Knights sign Jack Eichel to eight-year extension

Another star from the 2015 draft put pen to paper on a long-term deal.

The deal carries a $13.5 million AAV. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season.

His representatives and Vegas’ front office reached the agreement roughly six hours before the start of the season. Asked before training camp opened if he would shut down negotiations once meaningful games get going, Eichel brushed off the question.

“If a contract happens organically, then it happens,” Eichel said last month in Las Vegas at the NHL/NHLPA pre-season player media tour. “You can only control so much, right, and thatâ€s sort of in my mindset. What are the things that I focus on? Preparing for the season, getting my mind and body in the best place to be successful and help our hockey team. Thatâ€s more so my focus. I think anything else sort of just takes care of itself when you do your job well.â€

The move to sign Eichel comes after the fellow 2015 draftees Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov and Kyle Connor signed lucrative multi-year extensions in the last week.

Eichel, selected second overall that year by the Buffalo Sabres, is the fifth-leading points-getter from the 2015 class, tallying 608 points (239 goals, 369 assists) in 616 career games.

The 28-year-old took another step last season, picking up a career-high 94 points (28 goals, 66 assists) in 77 games while finishing top-five in voting for the Hart and Selke trophies.

Vegas finished with a 50-22-10 record, good for the third-best points tally (110) in the NHL. They won the Pacific Division, but were eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

With the deal, Eichel is set to be under contract through the 2033-34 season, joining Mitch Marner, Shea Theodore and Noah Hanifin as the Golden Knights players signed on until at least 2032.

Since undergoing artificial disk replacement, Eichel has produced above a point-a-game level for the Knights. He was the No. 1 center for the U.S. at the 4 Nations Face-Off and was already named to the Olympic team.

— With files from the Associated Press

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