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Originally Posted by New Era
Here's the rub about the PPG argument. Some players never play a full season. Jack Eichel is one of those guys. Since his rookie year he's been forced to take games off. These are things you have to factor in with players when projecting what they are going to score and the value they bring to your team. They may score at a PPG clip, but if they only play 3/4 of the games do you receive full benefit? No, you don't.
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Actually, yes you do... as long as he plays at least 75ish% of the season and helps get you comfortably into the playoffs, then plays every playoff game for you, you are getting full value. What your top players do in the playoffs matters much more than what they do in the regular season (provided you make the playoffs in the first place). That being said, one guy can't do it all himself. At some point you need some legitimate help to get your team in to the playoffs. The NHL is not a league where one guy can carry a team by himself.
If your argument is that Eichel is injury-prone, that's where you might have a case.
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This argument is getting old. Eichel has had Evander Kane, Jeff Skinner, Sam Reinhart, and most recently Taylor Hall on his line.
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Again, the only player on this list that has the pedigree of Gaudreau or Lindholm is Hall, but he's looked like crap this year. He looks nothing like the player he was in NJ.
Regarding Eichel, when you're pretty much the only threat on the ice, teams focus on playing you physically and shutting you down. This, combined with his huge ice time per game over the past number of seasons, can explain some of his injuries and games lost.