‘A special player’: Revisiting the Jack Eichel trade 5 years later

It feels like yesterday for Jack Eichel, exiting an all-black SUV at Red Rock Resort and being greeted by cheerleaders and a drumline.

A typical Vegas welcome, he recalls. Not that the Vegas Golden Knights star center had any idea what to expect when he arrived in what was going to be his new home — personally and professionally — for the foreseeable future.

Wednesday is the five-year anniversary of the trade considered to be the most monumental moment in Knights history, acquiring Eichel in a blockbuster deal with the Buffalo Sabres.

“It was a pretty big day in my life,” Eichel recalls. “Pretty big changes were to come.”

Nov. 4, 2021, is remembered as the day the Knights landed the coveted No. 1 center that general manager Kelly McCrimmon long coveted.

It’s also the day Eichel could finally breathe.

In the coming years he would get experimental surgery, return to the ice in an unexpected timeline, become an icon for an already successful franchise, play in two Finals, lift a Stanley Cup over his head, sign a milestone contract, get married and become a father.

“I love living here,” he said. “I love the city. I love the people.”

Life-changing surgery

The eight months prior were some of the darkest days in Eichel’s life. A neck injury in March ended his season, and Eichel needed surgery.

Eichel did his research on artificial disc replacement surgery, a procedure that had never been done on an NHL player. The Sabres continued to insist that Eichel get a traditional fusion surgery.

That created rifts between Eichel and the Sabres that were irreparable. On Sept. 23, the Sabres stripped Eichel of his captaincy.

“There’s beyond dark days, for sure,” Eichel said. “It was a long process. It was a tedious one. It was a really hard one, honestly. It was a very difficult case in a lot of ways.

“It presented a lot of challenges to try and find a solution. It was definitely tough at times, for sure.”

August is when McCrimmon started conversations with then-Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams about what it would take to bring the 24-year-old center to Southern Nevada.

“That’s how long we dealt with Buffalo trying to make a deal,” McCrimmon said.

Getting that star center

The talk of getting a No. 1 center dated back to the NHL semifinals against the Montreal Canadiens during the shortened 2020-21 season.

Chandler Stephenson, who played his way from a fourth-line role to a top-six center with the Knights, suffered an injury in Game 1 and missed the next three games.

The Knights went on to lose in six games, and McCrimmon knew something needed to be done.

“We always had good centers from inception. But we never had that true No. 1 center,” McCrimmon said. “When you look at the teams that win, they’ve usually got a high-end guy as a No. 1.”

Eichel was in the fourth year of an eight-year, $80 million contract he signed with the Sabres, the team that drafted him No. 2 overall in 2015. The team that traded for him would have him under team control for the next four seasons.

The key element to these negotiations was Eichel had no trade protection. All 31 teams had a chance to land Eichel if they could present the best package available.

Teams like the Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames and Montreal were rumored to have the best potential packages of win-now players and draft capital.

At 11 p.m. EDT on Nov. 3, McCrimmon got it across the finish line. Original Misfit Alex Tuch (a native of Western New York), 2019 first-round pick Peyton Krebs and two draft picks sealed the deal.

“I remember there was a lot of excitement around the team,” said coach Ryan Craig, who was an assistant coach at the time of the trade. “You had a player of that caliber (coming in), and what we knew about Jack, it was exciting for us.”

‘A new chapter in my life’

There was no hesitancy on McCrimmon’s side about letting Eichel get the surgery he wanted. He knew Eichel did his homework. He trusted that he knew what he was doing.

“I remember getting the call,” Eichel said. “It was obviously a monumental day in my life because it sort of started the next chapter of my hockey career and a new chapter in my life.”

Eichel’s surgery was on Nov. 12 in Denver. He made his Knights debut Feb. 16 against the Colorado Avalanche.

“I remember thinking that this was the start of something new and how I wanted to start to approach things. How I wanted this new chapter in my life to work,” Eichel said about his thoughts after the surgery. “That’s what I remember.

“I remember being there saying, ‘OK, this is how my first however many years has went, and this is how I want the rest of my hockey career to look like. These are changes that I’m going to try and make.’”

The next five years couldn’t have worked out better for the Knights, or Eichel.

Eichel experienced playoff hockey for the first time the next season. He became a two-way force, shutting down the other team’s best players, while leading the league in postseason scoring as the Knights won their first Stanley Cup.

Two years later, Eichel set the Knights’ single-season record with a career-high 94 points. He was rewarded that following October as the highest-paid player in team history, signing an eight-year, $108 million contract.

Eichel responded with 90 points last season, while winning Olympic gold with Team USA in February, and leading the Knights to a second trip to the Cup Final in four years.

The Sabres ended a 14-year playoff drought last year. Tuch is now with the Washington Capitals. Krebs has 140 points in 392 career NHL games.

‘A special player’

Eichel has played 331 regular-season games, totaling 363 points, which is already fifth in team history. Captain Mark Stone (414) is three points from tying 2023 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jonathan Marchessault for the team record.

Eichel isn’t far behind from passing his linemate Stone for that lead.

“He’s a special player. He’s one of the best players in the world,” McCrimmon said. “The commitment to being the best he can be I think really resonates through our organization. There’s not a player that looks more into being the best player possible than Jack does.”

A lot has changed in five years for Eichel. On the ice, he’s getting the recognition as one of the elite two-way players in the league. He’s been a primary reason why the Knights have played in the Stanley Cup Final twice since his arrival.

Off the ice, he’s seen some changes, too. Eichel is married to his longtime partner, Erin. They have a daughter now. Eichel turned 30 on Oct. 28.

Those are reasons enough for him to celebrate the past five years.

“It’s been an incredible time,” he added. “There’s so many special people that work here every day that you get to interact and you get to be around. … It means a lot to me.”

Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.