As a VGK fan, I must admit last season made me question the management… I’ve since then taken back everything negative. At the time I’m writing this, the VGK are 3 wins away from a Stanley Cup, and Jack Eichel, as this video has shown, is a major reason why. This was all possible because the VGK management of Kelly McKrimmon & George McFee, instead of trying to force a particular surgery on a player without having the medical background to make that kind of decision (yes, you did that Buffalo), they deferred all medical decisions to Eichel’s preferred doctors, and the operation could not have turned out better for both the VGK, and Eichel himself. Now, Vegas, despite paying a pretty chunky price for at the time damaged goods, is being proven to be much better ran, and they’re not afraid to make high-stakes decisions for the betterment of the team. If the VGK can finish the job here against Florida, and Eichel is raising the cup, it’ll be the greatest personal victory for Eichel, and the greatest managerial win, that I can remember in a long time… any hockey fan should root for that!

The Detroit Red Wings did the same for Steve Yzerman when they let him have an osteotomy on his right knee instead of another procedure that other "specialists" recommended. It was a knee surgery usually done on older people just to improve mobility on aging knees. It was never performed on an elite athlete like Steve Yzerman. He played virtually pain free until his retirement in 2006. But good on VGK for believing in Eichel and then giving him as much time to recover from the surgery.

True, but he matured dramatically and played brilliantly in the playoffs also.

All true, but besides surgery and coaching, Vegas was masterful at selecting players that perfectly complemented Eichel's style of play

​@@Steve_Hunts96they're finally starting to play good again it seems in 2024 also. Go Knights Go. It's gonna be a tough go, I definitely don't want to face the Preds in the playoffs

I’m glad Vegas proved to be the right fit for him and be able to shine. Still think Panthers win series and Bobrovsky wins Conn Smyth

You're right, he's great at diving. Next year he'll get picked up by a soccer team for that skill.

@@EdmontonRails cringe.

@@EdmontonRails stay mad he owns the oilers lmaoo

Shit I’m one of the ones whom was all over the idea of Eichel to Vegas, and when it happened, I FREAKED OUT!!! Made the work day that day impossible to focus because I was so jittery of the idea that Eichel, despite his neck surgery, was joining the team, and the potential his healthy form could bring! Now, a season later, and at the moment 3 wins away from a Stanley Cup, I’d say my reasons for being so excited for him are proving to be true! I’m where you were at this time last season; hoping dearly the job can be finished so that the players we love so much can raise Lord Stanley!

He’s so silky smooth

@@hockeypsychology smooth like butter.

We still need to see far greater and consistent successes over the next few years. One positive playoff run on a well constructed team does not redeem him. Let's be mature enough to wait and see.

He wanted the captaincy or else he would've cried, this goes back to the entitled cry baby shit.

He's good but he is not McDavid..

he's good skater and stuff but he has less than half the points McDavid had this season & still has less points in the playoffs

He does have a very a cerebral approach. It's a lot of fun to watch. Makes his successes just look so easy.

@@Denis-ux7ir McDavid has a +/- of -1 for the playoffs, while Eichel has +10. And he only beat Eichel by 1 point in their playoff series. While McDavid is the better player overall, it can be argued that he wasn't during the playoffs.

@@jc3drums916 When you need to bust out +/- in the argument...you lose.

Not just the right situation but honestly anywhere except Buffalo. It’s funny seeing guys like Robin Lehner, Evander Kane, and Eichel thrive after they left. Don’t know why people (mostly analysts) can’t see the team and the Pegulas are the real issue.

THIS.

VGK have 22 Canadian players on their roster, more than other NHL Teams. 17 play most nights. This motivates us to love the VGK.

Same!

thank you for seeing the obvious. too bad there are not more like you. #backinjuriesruinedmychanceseichelisahero

Even if Vegas sweeps Florida it's hard to imagine how it wouldn't go to Tkachuk.

@@paulybeefs8588 The last loser to win the Conn Smythe was Giguere in 2002. Bobrovsky deserves it more than anyone at this point too.

@@jfkst1 If the playoffs ended today it would be between Bobrovsky and Tkachuk, but knowing the vote history I still think Tkachuk would take it. It's 9 goals and 12 assists over 16 games, but it's the type of goals too. How many OT winners does he have on top of the series clincher with 3 seconds left? Eichel has a handful of goals, but they've all been pretty much irrelevant. Tacking on empty netters and padding extras on a 3 goal lead isn't helping a win. He goose-egged the Dallas series and had 1 goal in the Edmonton series that made any difference, scoring the first goal for Vegas to tie it 1-1 early in game 5. After Tkachuk and Bobrovsky, you still have Adin Hill, Brandon Montour, and Ivan Barbashev ahead of Eichel for the Conn Smythe.

Tkachuk will not win it if Florida loses.

@@paulybeefs8588 Bobrovsky you mean, right?

No that was just Eichel being arrogant and cocky as he usually is. He is, and never will be McDavid.

@@AlexTheOilersFan Guess you didn't watch the video or Eichel at all this year ? Eichel is not the player he was in Buffalo anymore when he waa claiming he was better but didn't bother to show it. Noe he's passed that and he's showing just how good he is. Might not be McDavid, but he sure is worthy of being selected right after

@@AlexTheOilersFan Sabres fan, eh? Guess either that, or you’re a fan of revisionist history. Buffalo screwed up, full stop. They stripped the team to nothing to tank, their GM moaned publicly when the tank didn’t work, and has made statements about McDavid that sound more at home on To Catch a Predator, and still they made an 18 year old kid captain after blowing up the team. Then you have all those front office changes. Enough coaches and GMs to make almost a 3rd of a roster. O’Reilly claimed to have lost passion for hockey in Buffalo, leaves, and IMMEDIATELY gets a Conn Smythe & Cup (which Eichel has a chance to do as well.) One of the guys shipped out of St. Louis refused to report to Buffalo and opted to go back to Sweden. But no - let’s put all the responsibilities and blame on what was an 18 year old kid. Not the abysmal ownership/mgmt at the time, and we can overlook the fact that you know *damn well* in athletics that willing yourself to be “#1” is drilled into one’s head from the very beginning as well. www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/sabres-gm-tim-murray-on-lottery-results-im-disappointed-for-our-fans/ So I ask again - are you just wearing Pegula’s blindfold willingly, is he paying you, or are you so divorced from reality that you can’t admit how the Sabres’ front office made a bear trap for themselves and jumped in hard with both feet?

100%. Sometimes all it takes is a change of scenery & growth to completely change things for the player

It wasn't that Buffalo failed him it was himself failing in Buffalo. Not only we had bad coaching decisions/GMS but he also was a prevelant cancer in the locker room and his spiteful comments too fans also pissed Sabres fans off and players just wanted to get rid of him. He can get his surgery all he wants but he was also the problem in Buffalo.

If you look at who his teammates were in Buffalo during his time, they've had some pretty good players. His last season in Buffalo he had guys like Reinhart, Hall, Staal, Dahlin, Montour, Ullmark, Skinner, and Olofsson (not gonna include Tage and Cozens on this list). If Don Granato was the Head Coach instead of Ralph Kruger to start the 20-21 season, we're probably looking at a whole different picture.

He’s an absolute weapon

TBF, Vegas is better in depth, defense, and goaltending. So not really a surprise. But if you’d told anyone from 2015 - 2019 that Eichel would be in the Finals (and potentially will win) before McDavid, they’d laugh at you. Big time.

@@hockeypsychology "some big superstars lose this creativity when the lights are the brightest"...looking at you McDavid! 👀

​@SpartanNige 329 agreed, vegas has been a competitive playoff team in almost every season since their founding. Last season was a perfect storm of injuries and struggling goaltending that caused them to fall short. The Eichel trade was a hail mary just to qualify and unfortunately it didn't work out. After last season i doubt anyone was expecting a healthy Vegas team to have the same season as that one, with or without Eichel.

@@sports2hedz542 McDavid has the 3rd most points in the playoffs and he didn't play last round. He didn't dominate the playoffs as much as he did last year, but he still played well. The goaltending, defense and refs (probably in that order) let him down. If postseason games were called like regular season (or even closer to that), Oilers would live on the PP because it is impossible to consistently defend McDavid and Leon cleanly.

As a sabres fan as well, i couldnt agree more, and I didnt like how he was booed, I'm glad he gave another interview eventually and said no hard feelings and he now understands why they booed him. Go get em' Eichel.

Bc that's where their support system is. Laos they're franchise players. For sure they could go elsewhere and take over the team somewhere else

I agree

I think there's also a narrative here. based on National stereotypes. Eichel vs. McDavid. The spoiled American vs. the good ol' Canadian boy who does everything right. We saw the same thing with Patrick Kane & Jonathan Toews, but they were on the same team, pulling on the same rope, so they kind of had fun with it. Eichel was always being compared to McDavid and always coming out second best. Yeah, because McDavid is a better player and puts up fantastic numbers, but also because Eichel had this show-off personality who wasn't serious enough about hockey (typical loud mouth American) while McDavid doesn't seem to have any personality at all (nice, serious Canadian). It's interesting that this year, I guess for the first time ever, the two big names, one from each team, in a Stanley Cup Final, will be American players: Eichel vs. Tkachuk.

I think he just needed the right coach to unlock his potential. I know it took the better part of the whole season to get him to this level, but here we are. He's really elevated his game in the playoffs which I'm thrilled about. Lets go Knights!

@@RRaquello I'm Canadian, but I can certainly see your point. The coverage McDavid gets during Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts is ridiculous. H'es a generational talent, no question, but Eichel is proving his worth, and on the ice at least he is leading by example.

​@@serialmiller1987 Eichel is a series of unfortunate events. He gets drafted behind the greatest offensive player of his generation to the worst possible team. He wasn't a leader when they wanted him to be one, with the best players that stuck around were Jeff Skinner and Kyle Okposo. He wasn't the most mature, sure. He was a kid. But the management around him didn't nurture that. There weren't other leaders or stars on that team either to mentor him. Buffalo management sucked, had bad contracts, and no one wanted to play there. Eichel was the scapegoat of the blame as the team's captain. But he's truly never been bad, he's just had a villainous/baggage filled narrative. Any other team would have been glad to have him.