#VegasReborn: The Jack Eichel Career Simulation

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Now that the Jack Eichel saga is over, I thought it would be fun to see how he does in Vegas.

I traded Jack Eichel to Vegas in this save just like in real life and simmed out the rest of his career. I then tried to mimic the situation as closely as possible. I gave Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, and William Karlsson their real-life injuries. And then I took the 3-5 month timeline being tossed around for Eichel’s recovery and used a randomizer to come up with Eichel’s injury length. I will be raising the salary cap by small increments every off-season, starting with a one million increase in the 2022 off-season.

Moving forward, I won’t be interfering with team transactions in any way, no matter how tempting it is sometimes. For the record as well, so that you're aware of my bias, I am a Canucks fan and I dislike Vegas

My final predictions are that Jack will end his career as VGK’s all-time scoring leader with a Stanley Cup, a scoring title, and two Hart Trophies mixed in.

Hope you enjoy!

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The Golden Knights were reeling early in the season without Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, William Karlsson, and Jack Eichel. After 41 games, though, they are a respectable 22-17-2. That’s good for 46 points and second in the Pacific behind the upstart San Jose Sharks who have two games in hand. At the halfway point of the season, Jack Eichel is still listed as being 2-3 months away from returning to action.

The Winter Olympics came and went without Jack being able to participate. Without him, Team USA lost to Canada 5-4 in the semis thanks to a Brad Marchand hat trick. The Canadians ultimately won gold and Team USA settled for bronze. At the conclusion of the Olympics, Jack is 2-3 weeks away from recovery.

In March, the Golden Knights set out for a five-game eastern swing and with Eichel listed as day-to-day, I will assume he is on the trip. VGK will go through Philadelphia, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Columbus, and Winnipeg. It is the first time in this simulation that I am tempted to interfere because I want him to be able to play against Buffalo so badly. But alas, I let it play out.

He doesn’t play in the Golden Knights’ 4-3 loss in Philadelphia. However, by the next day, he’s finally on VGK’s active roster for the first time since the trade. The AI was not adequately prepared, though, and Nolan Patrick is on waivers as a result. But my god, how ridiculous would it be if Eichel’s first game as a Golden Knight is in Buffalo against the Sabres?

I realize now looking at the active roster that VGK made some trades before the deadline. Looks like Stephenson to MIN for a third and Janmark to NYI with a couple of late round picks for Loustarinen. Dadonov was also dealt for a pick.

So we do get our wish, Eichel is in between Pacioretty and Stone for his Golden Knights debut at the KeyBank Center against the Sabres. He takes the opening face-off against Casey Mittlestadt and wins it. The Sabres drive the pace of play early feeding off of, I’m assuming, a raucous crowd. Zemgus Girgensons is now wearing Eichel’s old number nine.

And Jack has his first point as a Golden Knight! He gets an assist on a Pacioretty PPG halfway through the first period.



With just under five minutes left in the first, he adds another assist on another Pacioretty goal. Honestly, this could not be going any better. The drama.



Mittelstadt scores a PPG of his own to make it 2-1 five minutes into the second period. Former Golden Knight Peyton Krebs gets the assist. VGK starts the third on the power play, but Ethan Prow scores short handed to tie the game with the assists to Alex Tuch and Krebs. The former Golden Knights are refusing to let this be solely about Eichel. On the same power play, though, Jon Marchessault gets one back to put VGK back up by one. Marchessault scores again to make it 4-2 and that’s how the game ends. Other than a Jack GWG in OT, I’m not sure we could have scripted this any better.



After the high of a perfect debut in Buffalo against his former team, Jack puts together a solid rest of the road trip. He tallies a total of two goals and three assists in four games. In his home debut against the Panthers, he records an assist on the Pacioretty insurance marker and VGK wins 2-0.

Jack Eichel finishes the 2021-22 season with seven goals and 22 assists in 24 games. That’s 29 points and a scorching 1.2 points-per-game. He has not been nominated for any awards.



The Golden Knights finished second in the Pacific to Calgary and will face Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in round one.

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ROUND ONE - EDM (96 PTS, 3rd Pacific Division) @ VGK (97 PTS, 2nd Pacific Division)

The fact that Jack’s first playoff appearance will come against Connor McDavid and the Oilers is just incredible. The NHL could not have written a better script to start the Jack Eichel Vegas era.

Game 1, EDM 2 @ VGK 4: The Golden Knights open strong at home with four straight goals before the Oilers get two back in the third. Jack Eichel got his first playoff point, an assist, and Connor McDavid put up two assists of his own. The spotlight on this night belonged to Max Pacioretty, however, as he had a hat trick. 1-0 VGK.



Game 2, EDM 2 @ VGK 3: Unreal. Max Pacioretty had another hat trick and the Oilers waste a second straight multi-point effort from McDavid and Draisaitl. Jack had an assist in the win, but the night once again belongs to his linemate. 2-0 VGK.



Game 3, VGK 5 @ EDM 3: The series has shifted to Edmonton, but it continues to be the Max Pacioretty show. He notched another two goals and an assist in the win. Jack had his first playoff goal. McDavid had an assist in the loss while Draisaitl was pointless and ended up a miserable -3. 3-0 VGK.



Game 4, VGK 5 @ EDM 6: The Oilers stave off elimination thanks to two goals from Leon Draisaitl including the winner. Jack had an assist to keep his playoff-long points streak alive. They can’t finish the sweep, but the Golden Knights still have a stranglehold on this series heading back to Vegas. 3-1 VGK.



Game 5, EDM 3 @ VGK 4: Jack Eichel put his stamp on this series in the clincher. He had an assist on the Pacioretty goal that broke a 2-2 tie and then scored what would eventually be the game winner a shift later. The Golden Knights are moving on. 4-1 VGK.

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ROUND TWO - WPG (93 PTS, 4th Central Division, Wildcard #1) @ VGK (97 PTS, 2nd Pacific Division)

The Jets are in the second round thanks to a 4-1 upset over the Calgary Flames, who won the Pacific Division. Kyle Connor is leading them in playoff scoring. The Golden Knights played them three times during the regular season and had a 1-2 record. They allowed a combined 18 goals to Winnipeg over those three games and only scored 7 themselves. Jack’s first goal as a Golden Knight came against the Jets during that March road trip.

Game 1, WPG 1 @ VGK 3: Jack Eichel continued his hot streak with two assists and Robin Lehner did the rest. Worth noting that Pacioretty scored his tenth and eleventh of the postseason in this, the Golden Knights’ sixth playoff game. 1-0 VGK.



Game 2, WPG 3 @ VGK 6: The fans at T-Mobile Arena are again going home without their hats thanks to Max Pacioretty. His third hat trick of the playoffs is the difference. Jack had an assist on each of Pacioretty’s three goals and was named the second star of the game. Winnipeg’s Pierre-Luc Dubois had two goals in the loss. Vegas is still perfect at home. 2-0 VGK.



Game 3, VGK 2 @ WPG 3 OT: The Golden Knights cross the border to play in Winnipeg’s white out conditions. Mark Schiefele ended it five minutes into overtime with a short handed goal. Jack is held off the scoresheet for the first time in his playoff career. 2-1 VGK.



Game 4, VGK 6 @ WPG 5: Vegas bounces back big in Game 4 led by Alex Pietrangelo. Jack had an assist. The Golden Knights can once again close a series in Game 5 at home where they have so far been perfect. 3-1 VGK.



Game 5, WPG 2 @ VGK 4: Max Pacioretty scored his 15th of the playoffs to help close out the Jets at T-Mobile Arena. Jack had two assists in the win. Vegas is going to the conference final for the fourth time in their five-year history. 4-1 VGK.

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WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL - VGK (97 PTS, 2nd Pacific Division) @ DAL (109 PTS, 1st Central Division)

It is a rematch of the 2019-20 Western Conference Finals from the Edmonton bubble. Dallas won the Central thanks to scoring by committee. Seven Stars recorded 50 points or more in the regular season, the most in the NHL. It will be interesting to see how the Golden Knights do without home-ice advantage as their two losses so far have come on the road.

Game 1, VGK 5 @ DAL 3: Vegas negates home ice advantage by beating the Stars at the American Airlines Center. Jack had a goal and two assists in the win. 1-0 VGK.



Game 2, VGK 1 @ DAL 4: The Stars win in decisive fashion. Dallas' depth really shone today and they are the first team that seems like they're able to handle the Golden Knights' top line. The series will shift to Vegas for Games 3 and 4. Jack was held scoreless in the loss. 1-1, game on.



Game 3, DAL 2 @ VGK 3 OT: The Golden Knights win on Alex Pietrangelo’s short handed OT goal and keep their record perfect at T-Mobile Arena. There have been two shorthanded OT winners so far in these playoffs which I can't say I've ever seen before. Jack was once again pointless. 2-1 VGK.

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Game 4, DAL 1 @ VGK 2: The Golden Knights win despite a quiet night from their top line and a hell of a game from Anton Khudobin. No points for Jack, but they are on a roll. 3-1 VGK.



Game 5, VGK 0 @ DAL 3: Anton Khudobin steals this one for Dallas and it could be a real turning point. Suddenly, VGK’s stars have disappeared and the Stars are taking full advantage. Vegas gets one more crack to end it at home where they’ve been a perfect 8-0.



Game 6, DAL 1 @ VGK 2: The Golden Knights extend their record at home to 9-0 in these playoffs and finish off the Stars thanks to a Pacioretty winner. It was ugly at times for Jack in this series and he didn’t produce anywhere close to what we saw against Edmonton and Winnipeg, but Vegas gutted it out without much help from him. They’re going back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since their inaugural season. 4-2 VGK.

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STANLEY CUP FINAL - NYR (91 PTS, 4th Metropolitan Division, Wildcard #2) @ VGK (97 PTS, 2nd Pacific Division)

The Golden Knights are facing off against the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Final. The Rangers were the lowest seeded team in the East, and so Vegas will have home ice advantage which is crucial to them as they’re perfect at home so far. These playoffs have been an Alexis Lafreniere coming out party as he’s put up 14 points in 19 games. The Golden Knights are led by, I would say, the Conn Smythe favourite in Max Pacioretty who has 18 goals in 16 playoff games. And despite a quiet showing against Dallas, Jack is second on the team with 17 points in 16 game

Game 1, NYR 1 @ VGK 2: The Golden Knights win a nail biter at T-Mobile. Georgiyev was incredible, but Jack managed to put the game-winner behind him thirteen minutes into the third. Vegas remains perfect at home. 1-0 VGK.



Game 2, NYR 2 @ VGK 4: Vegas wins what may be their last home game of the playoffs. Jack scored an empty netter to put the game away with less than a minute left in the third. It’s early yet, but he has definitely got his fingerprints all over this series after a disappearing act in the Western Conference Final. 2-0 VGK.



Game 3, VGK 2 @ NYR 3: I definitely jinxed the Golden Knights after saying that Game 2 would be their last home game of the playoffs. Alexis Lafreniere tied this game in the third and the Rangers shut it down after that, limiting Vegas to 8 shots in the final frame. No points for Jack. Do you think Sabres fans are cheering for the Rangers? 2-1 VGK.

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Game 4, VGK 5 @ NYR 1: This one was close until it suddenly wasn’t in the third period. Vegas’ middle six filled the net. Jack had an assist. The Golden Knights are returning home with a chance to win the Stanley Cup where they’re a perfect 11-0. 3-1 VGK.



Game 5, NYR 2 @ VGK 6: Incredible. The Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup thanks in large part to a 12-0 run on home ice. Jack scored and added an assist in the clincher. It’s the perfect ending to the season that I’m sure Vegas dreamed about when acquiring Eichel. He finished tied for third in playoff scoring with 22 points behind only Max Pacioretty and Artemi Panarin. I’m going to speculate that Stone’s first pass of the Cup would be to Conn Smythe winner Pacioretty who scored at an almost goal per game pace. 4-1 VGK.

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The Golden Knights got the ending to this season that they dreamed of after acquiring Eichel. He was a key part of the team when he returned late in the regular season and was a mostly consistent contributor in his first playoff experience. He was better than point per game in both the regular season and the playoffs.

I hope that he and McDavid meet as many times as possible in the playoffs over the next few years as it would be awesome to see them match up constantly in their primes. I'm hoping to see something similar to Crosby vs. Ovechkin during the 2010s. Those matchups made for thrilling games.

As for the Golden Knights, I don’t really know where they go from here. They have a large part of their cap committed to their key players and are going to be tight even with the cap going up. It doesn’t help either that everyone will be a year older. I think we’re really going to start feeling the fact that they’ve traded so many first round picks once Jack is centering Pacioretty and Stone after the aging curve inevitably gets the better of them. One bright spot is defenseman Nic Hague who was the first star in each of the final two games of the Stanley Cup Final. If he can continue to improve, that would go a long way to Vegas staying competitive as their stars age.

So far, so good for my predictions. Jack has a Stanley Cup on his resume now without having even played a full season with the Golden Knights. He’s going to be a points machine in 2022-23 and I can’t wait to see it. Here’s hoping there’s many more signature moments like his Game 5 performance versus Edmonton. Of course, I’m going to view every game he plays in Buffalo against his former team as well.