Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel is the latest superstar to sign a contract extension in the wake of fellow NHL elites Kirill Kaprizov and Connor McDavid inking their own deals, creating a new set of standards for contracts going forward.
Kaprizov and McDavid represent opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to player salaries, but Eichel's eight-year deal worth $13.5 million annually is a happy medium that demonstrates a balance between giving a player what they're worth and saving the team a few extra dollars along the way.
Kaprizov signed a record-breaking extension worth a whopping $17 million per year, made possible by the Minnesota Wild's hefty cap space and the team's willingness to devote 16.35 percent of their total available cap to the Russian forward. This deal had the potential to set a new standard that gives the power back to the superstars in order to demand the money they believe they deserve, especially in the face of the rising salary cap in the coming seasons.
McDavid, on the other hand, is a player who left millions of dollars on the table in order to dedicate two more years of his prime to a team that he believes is capable of winning the Stanley Cup in the very near future. The generational talent could have handily commanded more than Kaprizov's massive cap hit, but ultimately chose to take a pay cut to the tune of $12.5 million annually starting in 2026-27. That displays a team-first mentality that allows the Edmonton Oilers to retain more cap space in order to shape a championship-caliber team around the five-time Art Ross winner.
Eichel falls somewhere in the middle of these two. The 28-year-old has certainly earned the big-time bucks: he led all Golden Knights skaters in ice time last season, set new franchise records in both points and assists, and rightfully so becomes the highest-paid player in team history. Yet, the projections had Eichel earning anywhere from $14 million to $15 million. The minor discount gives Eichel a reasonable salary that is well-earned, and affords Vegas stability at the same time. Eichel is making a long-term commitment at a fair rate that neither sacrifices the dollars he rightfully deserves, nor demands more than the team can handle in terms of cap space.
Having these three archetypes established will undoubtedly have long-term effects on other players with contract extensions around the corner.
What does this mean for other NHL superstar's contracts?
Going forward, there are now well-defined categories for players to fall into when signing large contracts: the McDavid model of being selfless for the sake of the team, the Kaprizov megadeal method, and the Eichel archetype of having a stabilized, balanced deal that checks every box.
So where do the chips fall when it comes to upcoming extensions for players like Auston Matthews and Jason Robertson? It's impossible to predict with certainty -- after all, not a single expert could have foretold McDavid's insane pay reduction.
But with the Dallas Stars pressed for money, it would make sense for Robertson to go in the direction of McDavid if he is confident in the Stars' ability to challenge for a championship in the short-term. He has already stated that he would wait until next summer to really get into contract negotiations with GM Jim Nill, so Robertson could be waiting to see what the team is capable of longer-term before making a big commitment.
Meanwhile, Matthews is the face of the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise in a way similar to the role Eichel plays for Vegas. With that in mind, plus the fact that Toronto has big guns like William Nylander and Matthew Knies on the payroll, Matthews could reasonably follow in the footsteps of Eichel in taking a large, but still team-friendly contract when the time comes for him to put pen to paper on his next deal after 2027-28.
The influence of Kaprizov, McDavid, and Eichel will continue to run deep as more and more superstar-caliber players prepare to ink new contracts.