After taking on Mitch Marner's hefty contract with Maple Leafs, Golden Knights reportedly tackle Jack Eichel dilemma

The Vegas Golden Knights pulled off the biggest trade of the NHL offseason. After the Toronto Maple Leafs executed a sign-and-trade to move Mitch Marner, a different kind of situation has emerged for Vegas. The Jack Eichel dilemma—if you will.

Vegas took on the entirety of Marner’s eight-year, $96 million deal—and the Golden Knights would make the same move again in a heartbeat. Nevertheless, it has created a complex situation in Sin City. Still, if there’s one thing fans on the Strip already know by heart, it’s that the house always wins.

The Golden Knights are currently approximately $7.6M over the salary cap’s limit, and the financial side won’t get any easier going forward. Hoping to keep the star duo in town, Vegas will have to allocate a great percentage of its salary on Eichel’s extension. The former Buffalo Sabres’ talent is entering a contract year, as his eight-year, $80M deal is set to expire next summer.

The Summer of Eichel

As reports hinted, the Golden Knights had already contemplated the potentially bank-breaking extension Eichel and his camp might be eyeing next summer. Now, it’s a matter of facing the music or making a bold gamble. In perfect Vegas fashion, the organization might be all-in, putting its chips between the Gold and Black.

Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs takes a breather against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period in an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on April 12, 2025.

“I believe Vegas have already began to tackle how this will be look with Eichel. It’s going to be a big number, I assume it’s going to be over Marner’s number,” Elliotte Friedman said during the 32 Thoughts podcast. “Unless he decides to come in at the same one. Whatever the number [Eichel] signs for, I’m going to guess it could’ve been a lot higher in the open market.“

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Manifesting?

There’s always an added flavor when an NHL player visits the rink he once called home. But when the returning player is someone like Marner, coming back to a venue like Scotiabank Arena to face a team like the Maple Leafs—well, not to overreact, but the roof might just blow off.

There’s no clear word yet on when Marner will make his return to Toronto with his new teammates, but Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy may have some insight. In a recent interview, the Stanley Cup–winning bench boss made an intriguing remark.

“I think we’ll be in Toronto early in the season, so we’ll see how it goes by then,” Bruce Cassidy said during an appearance on Leafs Morning Take.

Whether it’s early in the season or late, once the 2025–26 NHL schedule is announced, one date will be circled in red. No one around the league will want to miss the night Marner returns to the barn that took him in as a teenager—and watched him leave a decade later in dramatic fashion.