(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)
It’s plausible that we spend too much of our attention on VGK superstar Jack Eichel. Our answer is, why shouldn’t we? His unsigned extension is one of the bigger storylines around the league and he happened to be named one of the top players in the entire NHL. Even surpassing one of the game’s all-time greats.
Sportsnet’s 2025-26 Top Ten Players
Connor McDavid
Nathan MacKinnon
Leon Draisaitl
Cale Makar
Nikita Kucherov
Quinn Hughes
Auston Matthews
Kirill Kaprizov
Jack Eichel
Aleksander Barkov
Last season Eichel couldn’t crack the Top 20 as then 37-year-old Sidney Crosby remained among Sportsnet’s ten best. Surprisingly, Eichel was ranked 26th overall last season which was unfairly low. Now, Sportsnet super boosted the Golden Knights top center 17 spots higher. It appears Eichel’s high 2025-26 rankings were also an omission for placing him so low last year.
(Credit: Sportsnet)
Sportsnet mentions Eichel’s top ten point total as well as his fifth-place finish for the Hart Trophy (5th Place) and Selke Award (5th) last season. Whereas in the past, the star center wouldn’t have received any praise for his two-way play. Now, there’s no doubting his high-end skill on both sides of the ice. Since his move to Vegas, many consider him a complete player.
The top ten rankers also highlighted that Eichel dressed for more games last season than he averages over his career. His 77 appearances in 2024-25 tied for the second most games he’s played in one 82-game period. Considering he’s healthy entering this season, the expectations for the 28-year-old are once again very high.
(Credit: Sportsnet)
There’s a chance that Sportsnet’s 2026-27 Top 10 rankings have Eichel even higher than ninth overall. Certainly, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl and Cale Makar will round out the top four, but Nikita Kucherov is four-years older and Auston Matthews has dropped two years running. It’s possible after another top five Hart Trophy finish, Vegas’ superstar could leapfrog one of the two. Sooner or later, he’ll hop over both in AAV as well.
