After moving on from Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mitch Marner must find a new sidekick in Sin City. On that note, Bruce Cassidy issued a sincere message to Vegas Golden Knights star Jack Eichel ahead of the NHL campaign.
In the biggest move of the NHL offseason, Marner switched addresses to become a Golden Knight. Now, the expectations are set sky-high for the former Leaf and his new teammates in Nevada. Though Vegas boasts a stacked roster, one name stands out, and that is Eichel’s.
The American centerman has been a household name since entering the NHL as the second overall pick in 2015. After turbulent years with the Buffalo Sabres, he asked for a trade and struck gold from the get-go with the Knights.
Test drive
However, Eichel has never had a teammate of Marner’s stature. Meanwhile, Marner doesn’t have much experience playing without Matthews. It may look like Vegas has all the pieces in place to build a contender—but Cassidy knows better than to take chemistry building for granted. Thus, Cassidy confirmed that the new duo in town will play together during training camp, but the combo could be broken up if they fail to feed off each other.
“They will have time together [but] whether they have chemistry, that’s to be determined,” Cassidy commented, per TSN. “Sometimes on paper, you look at chemistry and think it’s going to work and it doesn’t. And sometimes other lines just come together naturally. So that, to me, is a little bit unpredictable. There’s always cues that you think, ‘It will work.’ But who knows?”
Finding a “Matthews”
While pairing Eichel and Marner on a line could give the Golden Knights a big advantage over opponents, they’d still need to add a pure goal scorer to the mix. Both Eichel and Marner excel with the puck on their stick—and though they can score in bunches—they thrive at leaving teammates in scoring position. Eichel has some natural instincts that could be bolstered, as to sort of fill Auston Matthews’ void by Marner’s side, nevertheless.
“Those guys both like to hang on to the puck,” Cassidy added. “If they’re together, who’s the best shooter on that line? So that could change. I think it’s pairs first, and then the threesome. That’s how I’ll look at it.”
One step at a time
It takes two to tango, but three to play on a forward line. So, while the Marner–Eichel duo excites fans in Sin City, Cassidy knows the team must focus on putting together the best combinations. Perhaps, for the Golden Knights, that means not placing all their eggs in one basket.
SURVEY Who should join Marner and Eichel on a hypothetical first line in Vegas?
Who should join Marner and Eichel on a hypothetical first line in Vegas?
already voted 16 fans
In the NHL, success is based on depth and splitting Marner and Eichel could provide just that perfect balance for Vegas. Still, it’s very early and only time will tell whether it works out or not for the Knights.