NHL insider warns Jack Eichel's upcoming "mega primo" Golden Knights contract extension poses major salary cap challenge

The Vegas Golden Knights have yet to sign centerman Jack Eichel to a contract extension. He has been eligible to sign a new deal since the 1st of July. His current contract is an eight-year $80 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres before his trade to Las Vegas ends after this season.

Eichel's contract projections have hinged at an annual average value in excess of $12-13 million, which is what other star centers in the league, like Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews and Leon Draisaitl are signed to. However, with the salary cap increasing and Eichel set to be in his prime years for the majority of the eight years that value can only rise.

As per Frank Seravalli of the Bleacher Report network, Eichel is expected to receive a contract that could be more than $15 million in AAV. The 'mega primo' deal for the Golde Knights will be of similar stature to the extension that the Edmonton Oilers are expected to hand to Connor McDavid.

"That's going to be a really interesting news to follow because like Connor McDavid, we're talking mega primo money for Jack Eichel and the Vegas Golden Knights," Seravalli said (17:30 onwards). "And man, I don't know how they can go without him. I don't know how they could move on from him. But when looking at their cap table, it's hard to wedge in a really big extension and what that looks like relative to the rest of true market value.

"I think what you're talking about with Jack Eichel is a 15-plus million dollar AAV deal. He's been that good. I think then all of a sudden you crunch some numbers and take out your calculator if you're looking at the Vegas Golden Knights cap situation, which is never easy, and you go, "How do they do this?" I guess with the rising cap, that certainly will help, but it's going to be interesting to watch all of that come together."

Vegas is in a salary cap crunch, already over $7.6 million over the salary cap limit for next season. Their most crucial offseason acquisition, Mitch Marner's eight-year $96 million deal might be factor in determining the extent to which the Knights will be forced to pay Eichel.

NHL analyst reckons Jack Eichel will hit free agency

As per Anthony DiMarco of The Daily Faceoff on their NHL Mailbag, Eichel and the Knights will not be able to get to a contract extension with the player eventually heading into free agency.

“Eventually something is going to have to give in Vegas,” Di Marco opined. “Yes, Eichel likely isn’t the guy the Knights eventually bring the hammer down on, but after signing Mitch Marner to a major contract with an AAV of $12 million, can they really afford to hand out a major deal to another forward?"

Eichel scored 94 points in 77 games for Vegas last season, scoring at 1.22 points per game, which is a record for the franchise. He was the eighth-highest scorer in the league and led them to the playoffs as they posted a 50-22-10 record. He has 608 points in 616 games in his NHL career.