With McDavid now signed, will a Jack Eichel extension follow shortly?

After three long months, Connor McDavid has finally signed an extension with the Edmonton Oilers. Coming in at a two-year term with a $12.5 million cap hit, McDavid lived up to the rumours of caring more about giving the Oilers the opportunity to build their team and win a Stanley Cup as opposed to cashing in and making a lot of money. Compared to the extension given to Kirill Kaprizov last week, it’s incredible value for McDavid.

So now that McDavid is signed, a quick look at the looming free agents list sees that Jack Eichel is next up. With one year left on an eight-year contract at a $10 million AAV, the Vegas Golden Knights will be looking to lock him up before July 1st.

But with McDavid now signed, does that affect Eichel’s contract, and maybe start to rush that process? Carter Hutton talked about how he thinks Eichel is in a completely different situation for his new contract on Daily Faceoff Live.

Carter Hutton: I don’t know if we see it before the season, just with the situation he’s in with Mitch Marner and what’s going on, because I don’t know if that necessarily is totally going to affect him, especially McDavid taking that short-term deal.

It’ll be interesting to see what Eichel does with his term. I feel like it’s a different situation where Jack’s in the situation he wants to be in. He’s in Vegas, he’s won the Cup, he’s there. There’s a little more loyalty, especially after everything that’s gone on him in his past in Buffalo. Obviously, it was a hectic era for him, the way he left Buffalo and the hatred in that sense.

I can’t see him ruining that relationship. I know how much Jack loves Vegas and loves being there and just the way of life. I look for him to be more about the term than necessarily McDavid is.

I definitely think it will impact it, but I just don’t see Jack Eichel being under the same pressure and microscope that McDavid was to get this deal done.

You can watch the full episode here…