Jack Eichel scheduled to arrive in Vegas; How will a cap-strapped Vegas fit him in?
Big news to share on Tuesday, as Jack Eichel appears to be en route to Las Vegas as he nears the point where he'll become eligible to resume practicing, following his artificial disc replacement surgery back in November.
Eichel was acquired by the Golden Knights in a blockbuster deal that saw Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, and a pair of picks shipped off to Buffalo after a months-long stalemate between Eichel and the Sabres over what type of surgery the team would approve for the franchise forward.
This is exciting news for Eichel, Vegas and the Golden Knights fanbase, as Eichel could lace up the skates a soon as this week, as long as all goes well in the meeting between he, the club, his trainer and his surgeon. If everything goes according to plan, Eichel will be the first NHLer in history to return from an artificial disc replacement.
One area of focus for the Golden Knights will be how they're going to be able to afford squeezing Eichel in under the cap. Las Vegas Review-Journal's David Schoen mentioned that Vegas could be looking to aquire a player with a larger contract whose playing days are over to take full advantage of LTIR cap relief. Some examples of players that Vegas may target, per The Fourth Period, are Ben Bishop (DAL) and Ryan Kesler (ANA).
Even with some added cap flexibility, the Golden Knights may be required to move out another contract to make room for Eichel. Someone like Jonathan Marchessault or Reilly Smith seem like the most likely candidates. Each carries a $5M cap hit, with Smith's deal expiring at the end of this season while Marchessault has two seasons remaining on his deal after this one.
