Is the Golden Knights' problem Jack Eichel?

[SFKingshomer]

Probably not and I don't buy the injuries as an excuse. There are teams that have held it together with a lot of key injuries...

 

[one2gamble]

no, they just have a lot of key people hurt and the team isnt 6 quality nhl lines deep anymore.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Those golden helmets are the problem. What's Vegas record when they wear them?

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

He actually was the only guy that played well tonight. Horrible cap managment is taking the Knights down.
Lets just say guys are probably sitting on LTIR longer than anticipated due to cap issues. Its a mess

He's actually on fire right now. Gets traded to a supposed powerhouse, and STILL doesn't get nearly enough respect as a top center in the league.

That said, I'm glad he's off the sabres -- the dude is bad luck and hasn't been on a winning team his whole life.

 

[Mr Positive]

they were doing okay until that loss last night. It was a terrible blow but they aren't out of it yet. The main thing slicing their playoff probability has been that all the teams in danger have been getting hot too.

It must be quite the strange pressure for that team to be under. They know that they just need to scrape in and they get two of their top guys back in immediately (I assume Pacioretty is in the same situation as Stone). They may be right up there with Colorado as a top contender (as long as their cap non-compliant roster can play that is).

Also the Dadonov situation adds to that, although that appears to be mostly positive. You got to think they will somehow fight to get in

 

[EichHart]

I don't think its Eichels fault. I think they really miss Stone, he will still be their best player when he comes back, hes that good.

 

[Lays]

Gallant > DeBoer in my opinion.

I'd say the new toy syndrome caught up with them. Which includes Deboer being a new toy

As a NYR fan I would swap Gallant for DeBoer.

 

[Freudian]

When the organization shows so little loyalty to players I wonder how much pride the players feel playing for the organization. Especially players that are now rumored to be dumped in the summer (Dadonov, Smith and possibly Pacioretty).

 

[Vegas07]

As a Canucks fan watching the Game tonight, Jack’s body language appears to show he’s very frustrated & is not responding well when he misses an opportunity. A couple of times it looked like he might have scored on a rebound or been able to get the puck back to dish it off if he stayed on task.

That all being said, most people here are aware that Vegas‘ roster looks lIke a cannon was shot through it.

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I fully expect Jack to bounce back in a big way next Season when the Roster is back to normal (Cap issues resolved, of course).

The team won 5 in a row and still gained almost no ground because the teams above them keep winning. So the Knights can’t afford to lose a game right now. The team was up 1-0 at home, looking like it would continue the winning streak, and then it all falls apart with a 5-1 loss.

The team did have a big comeback in another game recently, but I can see why Eichel was frustrated last night.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Their problems started when they traded MAF. Still don't understand how you trade your starter who just won the Vezina and was your teams MVP since the existence of your franchise.

 

[DarkandStormy]

Their remaining schedule sets up fairly easily. Lehner is back. They're actually closer to chasing down L.A. than they are Dallas (Pacific #3 vs WC #2).

They have three games remaining against teams firmly in the playoffs (Calgary, Washington, and St. Louis). They have two remaining against teams they are chasing (Edmonton and Dallas). They have four against teams under .500 and way out of the playoffs (Arizona, New Jersey, San Jose, and Chicago) and one against a middling team above .500 but not in the playoffs (Vancouver...who just spanked them 5-1 last night).

They have 10 games to make up 4 points on L.A., or they have to pray that Nashville/Dallas lose all their games in hand.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

It's only about their 3rd or 4th year as a team and they are still developing. Some of their top players such as Dadanov, William Karlsson, and Shea Theodore have been underperforming.

Well,..they become NHL franchise about 6 years ago.
And in 2017, they played their first game.

Sure, 5 is close to 4, but anyways.

Theodore at least point production wise
has not underperformed, well not that much
11 goals, 42 points in 68 games vs 8 goals, 42 points in 53 games
of last season.

 

[iCanada]

He has 19 points in 25 games coming off back surgury.
Eichel is not the problem.

The guy managing the salary cap, must have got his accounting degree from a correspondence school.
It will be interesting to see what the Knights do in the offseason to fix things

19 points in 25 games is not exactly impressive.

That's Nichuskin / Hyman / Toffoli / Wilson territory, not $10,000,000 AAV territory.

If that's his production with his defensive game, he is a problem considering the contract.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

I would say Robyn Lehner's performance has been biggest issue for Knights this season

I somewhat agree.

 

[Mr Positive]

Their remaining schedule sets up fairly easily. Lehner is back. They're actually closer to chasing down L.A. than they are Dallas (Pacific #3 vs WC #2).

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They have three games remaining against teams firmly in the playoffs (Calgary, Washington, and St. Louis). They have two remaining against teams they are chasing (Edmonton and Dallas). They have four against teams under .500 and way out of the playoffs (Arizona, New Jersey, San Jose, and Chicago) and one against a middling team above .500 but not in the playoffs (Vancouver...who just spanked them 5-1 last night).

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They have 10 games to make up 4 points on L.A., or they have to pray that Nashville/Dallas lose all their games in hand.

also atm Vegas holds the tie breaker, having a 2 win lead in RW, and 1 in ROW

A lot of people like LA but I'm not entirely sold that they aren't just a team like Vancouver but on a hot streak. Although in fairness they've had bad injury problem, although didn't replace that LTIR with new players like Vegas has done. But still, I see them as potentially falling out (and I know that my Oilers aren't out of the woods yet, especially if Draisaitl's injury takes more time)

 

[gearharb]

Nothing funnier than watching teams try to buy their way to a cup and then have it backfire.

Eichel isn't the problem, but he'll also never be the answer. Buffalo shipped out Eichel and ROR and now they're starting to see Thompson, Krebs, and Tuch all turn into legit players.

Vegas would be a much more complete team with Krebs, Tuch, and Stone in the lineup vs Eichel.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Vegas will make the playoffs and I think they will get 3rd spot in their division

7-3-0 in their last 10 games and they have two guys coming off the IR the moment the playoff start(that is another topic for another day)--I look at their schedule and think that unless the team bus drives out into the vegas night and is never seen again--they are not missing the playoffs

 

[Zerotonine]

Vegas biggest problem was there huge success in their 1st year simple. I think that will haunt that franchise for years to come as they won't see that success any time soon again

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

What big name is Vegas going to land this summer if they don't win the cup this year?

 

[Rodgerwilco]

The day before Eichel's debut the Knights had a 90% chance to make the playoffs. They now have less than a 50% chance.

Now, I know there are other factors in play. But they still have a good team that at minimum should be a wildcard team.

Is Eichel just a magnet for bad luck? It seems losing follows him wherever he goes...

There's your answer.

 

[Paddyjack]

ARE the Golden Knights' problem Jack Eichel.

Who ownnnnzzz the Chiefs, ownnnzzzz the Chiefs

 

[McShogun99]

Once Lehner went down the season was over. Should have never traded Fleury.

 

[Jeune Poulet]

it's a coaching management issue. Seeing as we take a highly mercenary approach with our players, it's laughable that it doesn't also apply to the coaching staff and front office.

Oh, the mercenary approach definitely applies to coaches in Vegas.

Or a solid one like Gallant wouldn't have been fired so soon, especially after such convincing results.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

Once Lehner went down the season was over. Should have never traded Fleury.

I think Vegas' thought process was that in order to free up money to get Eichel who was supposed to improve their PP, they had to rid of Fleury (and there was already that weird agent drama with Fleury anyways). Funny thing is, Vegas' PP is still bad, worst than the Sharks' inept PP. But I think they tried to deal from area of strength and depth to improve an area of weakness.

 

[Thorton02]

What happens when guys are ready to come back from IR and Vegas is over the cap?