LAS VEGAS – Dave Aikman grew up a lifelong Red Wings fan living in Detroit until he moved to the desert 16 years ago. What luck he must have felt when hockey followed him here, and he became an early season ticket-holder of the Vegas Golden Knights.
Aikman, who sits in Section 219 of T-Mobile Arena and is a co-host of The "Weekly Knightly" podcast, has seen the most glorious run of any expansion franchise in sports. There was a trip to the 2018 Stanley Cup final in year one, which seems even more incomprehensible in the rearview mirror, and instant contention every year since.
And 2022 is no different. The Golden Knights are one of a handful of teams who have legitimate Cup aspirations, but they've gone the extra mile this time. Standing last week outside the palatial arena locals have dubbed "The Fortress," the 43-year-old middle school teacher made quite a statement simply by what he was wearing.
A Jack Eichel jersey. Golden Knights gold edition.
You come all the way here from Buffalo, and it's a bit of a jarring sight to see.
True Vegas hockey fans can't wait to see Eichel play, but he isn't a thing here yet. The former Buffalo Sabres captain isn't on any of the monstrous electronic marquees on the Strip like some of his teammates. There's very little indication he's on the team in the arena gift shop, and workers said they're not selling his jersey until he actually starts playing. That seemed a tad odd, but probably came down from upper management, not wanting to pin so much on a new player when there's a team full of veterans.
"If you want to be mad Eichel is an ex-Sabre, this one lies squarely at the feet of Terry and Kim Pegula, as well as Dan Bylsma, Phil Housley, Ralph Krueger and Jason Botterill," Harrington writes.
But Aikman wasn't waiting. He took the No. 9 of former first-round pick Cody Glass and swapped the plate for one he had made to say "Eichel" soon after the trade with the Sabres in November.
"I hadn't even worn the jersey yet and then the trade happened," Aikman said. "I just can't wait. I've been watching the game for years. I'm still a Detroit fan and they've won a lot. So I know any time you've got a chance to get something to help you win, you've got to go do it and they have."
For now, Eichel is going about his business quietly here. He's been practicing for nearly a month but only in a no-contact role, first in a red jersey and then in a powder blue one.
Things progressed again Monday, as Eichel took the ice in a green sweater and joined the main practice group centering Vegas' fifth line, between former No. 2 overall pick Nolan Patrick and Michael Amadio. They have been in and out of the lineup as healthy scratches and due to injuries. Multiple reports from practice said Eichel also got rotational work with the top power-play group.
Golden Knights practice lines:Pacioretty—Stephenson—StoneMarchessault—Karlsson—SmithJanmark—Roy—DadonovCarrier—Howden—KolesarPatrick—Eichel—-AmadioDefensemen: Pietrangelo, Hague, Martinez, McNabb, Hutton, Coghlan, MiromanovLehner and Brossoit are the goalies.
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) February 7, 2022
Eichel had his now-infamous artificial disc replacement surgery in his neck on Nov. 12, and Vegas coach Peter DeBoer had said Friday at All-Star Media Day that Eichel could be cleared for contact as soon as this week when the three-month mark after surgery is reached.
Nobody is saying when Eichel might play in a game for the first time since March 7, 2021. Vegas insiders say Eichel looked a little sluggish in his early workouts, but has dramatically picked up the pace in recent days. DeBoer said Friday that Eichel has been the team's best player in some recent workouts.
Eichel isn't speaking to the media here yet, as Vegas made him off-limits for interviews after his introductory press conference last month until he's ready to return to action. But Eichel said on a recent podcast as the guest of UFC star Chris Weidman – who advised him to get ADR surgery after having it done himself – that he's thrilled with the results of the procedure.
"I couldn't be happier. I was on the ice very soon after getting surgery," said Eichel, who did his first skating while rehabbing in Charlotte, N.C. "A week after, I was just kind of gliding around and feeling it. ... At like basically eight weeks post-op now, I feel phenomenal. That's crazy."
The key is to see when Eichel is on a regular line in practice and not just with scratches. From that point, he might only be a week or so from playing. And it seems certain he'll be already back in the lineup by the time Vegas comes to KeyBank Center to meet the Sabres on March 10.
"Timing wise, my timing is probably off. I'm not at game speed," Eichel said. "And I'm sure it's going to take me a few games to get back to where I want to be. But physically, I feel fine. I also still have to take some contact and see how I respond to that. But I know I'll be fine."
No need to be franchise's face
A huge difference for Eichel will be the ability to fit into a team. While he'll eventually become the first-line center the Golden Knights have long needed, he's on a team full of stars. There's captain Mark Stone, former Montreal captain Max Pacioretty and mega free-agent signee Alex Pietrangelo, who captained St. Louis to the Cup in 2019. And there's also expansionites Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault, who have been here since the expansion draft and are beloved by the fans.
"I'm really happy with our leadership," Stone said at All-Star Media Day. "It's such a good team. Especially the guys who have been here since day 1 creating a culture. We have a lot of guys here to help him, but right away, he's one of our best players, if not our best player. So I'm pretty excited to see him play and just let him play hockey."
"He can come in and just do his thing," DeBoer said. "He doesn't have the pressure of having to carry a team. And I talked to him the other day and I know he's never played an NHL playoff game yet. That's exciting for him to do that here. That's a whole different level of hockey when you get to that time of year. I think he's going to excel in that type of game."
"We have so many young guys who are super skilled and really passionate about Buffalo, first of all ... We really want to be there and we really want to do something special there too. I'm super excited for the future," Dahlin says.
There will be pressure, of course, and no one knows how Eichel will respond to the postseason glare. He'll have to learn on the fly about the rigors of an NHL playoff series. That's where leaning on his teammates will help.
"A player of his caliber, whether it's his first playoff game or his 50th, I think he's going to be effective, either way," Pietrangelo said. "With the experience we have in our locker room of playing in the playoffs. I think it's going to make it easier for Jack. But when you're that talented, and that smart a hockey player, I don't think it's something to be too worried about."
First-time jitters in the playoffs?
The Sabres, of course, are enduring their NHL-record 11th straight year without seeing the postseason, and Eichel went 0 for 6 here. Is that a concern to fans?
"Well, he was with Buffalo, I'm sorry. It's not," chuckled season ticket-holder Eric Magnuson while walking through the All-Star FanFair in the Las Vegas Convention Center wearing an Eichel jersey he bought at the team's practice rink. "He'll be in the playoffs here because we've got the players that can get him there. ... He may just elevate his game that much more higher. I see the way he plays. I don't think he's going to suddenly regress, even with the injury that he had."
A big issue, of course, is how Vegas is going to fit Eichel's $10 million cap hit under its $81.5 million cap. A popular player like Smith could be imminently on the chopping block. It seems unreasonable to think Vegas will make Eichel wait until the cap-less playoffs begin in May so it can simply put him in the lineup like Tampa Bay did last year with Nikita Kucherov.
Kucherov was already a key member of the Lightning and getting him back in the lineup was a seamless process. Eichel is a new player. The Golden Knights definitely want Eichel to get in 15-20 games of work before the playoffs.
"I've seen him now for maybe a month and you can really understand why when I played against him he was a pretty effective player," Pietrangelo said with a laugh. "We all know that. The more he skates with us, the more he gets involved in our system, the more comfortable he feels. So I think when he does come back, he's going to be able to step right in and feel like he's back where he wants to be."
The selection of the 18-year-old from Boston University with the No. 2 pick in the NHL draft was supposed to mark the end of the suffering, the key moment in a rebuild to bring the Sabres back to prominence. It didn't happen.
"Cap-wise, it's going to be a pain, but I still thought it was a great deal," Aikman said. "I loved having Alex Tuch here and Peyton Krebs hadn't turned into something, but he absolutely could for Buffalo. It's just this team is ready to win now. I can't wait. ... On our podcast, people are excited but worried about who we're going to have to get rid of, maybe eventually Smith, or even (Evgenii) Dadonov or (Alec) Martinez or whoever. You're taking out depth, but when you've got a stud like Eichel, he just takes it over and makes up for it."
What's practice been like? Videos that have surfaced online show Eichel unleashing his shot and skating with the same stride we got used to in Buffalo. Really, the only question is going to be how he handles the inevitable contact that will come.
"There hasn't been a ton to learn about him," said Stone, who went against Eichel while playing in Ottawa. "But you can watch video and really see how he's one of the best skaters I've ever seen, one of the easiest skaters I've ever seen. He will help us score goals pretty much every game."
Cue the goal horn, the dancing showgirls behind the glass, the smoke celebration, the drum corps and Elvis crooning "Viva Las Vegas." They all make T-Mobile the NHL's most unique atmosphere. And whenever Eichel finally makes his debut in his new home, what will that night be like?
"I'm a season ticket-holder who has seen all of it here," Magnuson said. "And that place just goes nuts. The first night he's there? I think it'll go nuts times 10."
