In the 2025 postseason, no Golden Knight shot the puck more than Jack Eichel. But Eichel’s 30 shots in 11 games weren’t enough to satisfy everyone watching the games.
I’m always getting texts and messages, and it seems like everyone has an opinion telling me to shoot more. And there’s probably times they are right, and I could be more selfish and shoot the puck. -Jack Eichel
Eichel shattered the Golden Knights’ single-season record for points with 94 despite missing five games near the end of the year. He remained on nearly a point-per-game pace in the playoffs, adding 10 in 11 games, the only Golden Knight to reach double figures. For such an elite offensive player, though, it’s fair to wonder why the goal totals aren’t higher. Eichel has reached 30 goals just twice in his illustrious NHL career, and he has an underwhelming 10 goals in 40 playoff games. He went goalless against Edmonton and had just one against the Wild.
I think Jack if he looked at his game to grow it a bit would shoot start shooting a little bit more because he’s always had the ability to score he likes to defer, set players up. That’s where there’s could be some growth in his game offensively. -Bruce Cassidy
It’s always been in my nature to be a little bit more of a distributor. It’s something I can go into the offseason and look at and find ways to score more goals. It’s definitely something I’ll look at and try to improve on. -Jack Eichel
His nine assists this postseason and 33 in his playoff career indicate his pass-first nature is successful. Plus, there’s an argument that he’s simply not an elite shooter in the NHL. Eichel’s career shooting percentage is 10.9%. That number dips to 8.1% in the playoffs. Contrast that to players like Brayden Point (18.8%), Leon Draisaitl (18.6%), or Mark Scheifele (17.2%).
Not only did Eichel land the most shots on goal for the Golden Knights in the playoffs, but he also had the most shot attempts by a wide margin. Eichel’s 73 led over defensemen Shea Theodore and Noah Hanifin, who had 65 and 63, respectively, and the closest forward was Tomas Hertl with 54.
However, Eichel finished 7th on the team in the playoffs for individual expected goals created with 2.07. Thus, he created about .028 expected goals per shot attempt. In other words, it would take Eichel about 35 shot attempts to generate a full expected goal. Contrast that with Hertl, who generated 3.44 ixG on 54 attempts. It only takes Hertl 15 shot attempts to amass one expected goal.
Meanwhile, Eichel’s linemates have thrived alongside him. Jonathan Marchessault won the Conn Smythe then set a career-high in the regular season with 42 goals. Ivan Barbashev was on pace for a record-breaking season on Eichel’s wing before his injury, and Mark Stone eclipsed the point-per-game plateau for the first time in his career.
He’s making people around him better. Are they going to drive him, make him better? This guy’s a world-class leader. He’s pulling guys into the fight every night. He’s trying to make a difference every night he’s on the ice. So I have not one issue with Jack Eichel’s game and his willingness to win. It’s infectious, and we just have to make sure we put the people around him that he can pull it out of. -Cassidy
Everyone agrees, it wouldn’t hurt for Eichel to become a little more selfish and look to finish plays himself, especially in the big moments. But Jack Eichel was nowhere near the top of the list of the reasons the Golden Knights’ season was cut short in 2024-25.
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