Dater’s Daily: Jack Eichel Expecting Big Year In Vegas, Penguins Extend Coach

A hot, sunny Tuesday here in Thornton. Two more days left in August, then it’s September. Meaning, there’s hockey not too far away. Let’s do some around-the-horn NHL notes and whatnot, starting with one on Jack Eichel:

• The star forward, whose reputation has taken a hit the last couple years over contract stuff and his teams’ lack of performance, is promising a big year in Vegas this time. (NHL.com)
• Six years ago, when I was the “national” hockey columnist at Bleacher Report, I went to North Chelmsford, Mass., to do a story on the young Jack Eichel, then with the Buffalo Sabres. I never actually talked to Eichel there, or his parents, but I did have one hell of a good eggs benedict breakfast (Bleacher Report)
• As the story shows, I later caught up with Eichel in Arizona. He’s not a bad guy, but his career hasn’t gone the way he’d hoped. Yet, I do think he’ll have a very strong year with the Golden Knights.
• Bleacher Report doesn’t do a lot of original reporting anymore, but I’ll always be a Bleacher Report guy and grateful to them. They gave me two years of regular work with a good salary, and I learned a TON about how stories “sell” online. It’s definitely helped me here at Colorado Hockey Now, which gets more traffic covering one team than some sites that cover multiple teams.
• In a move that surprises me some, the Penguins today extended the contract of coach Mike Sullivan for three years. Dan Kingerski has all the deets (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)
• Sullivan is a hell of a coach, with two Cup rings on his fingers to prove it. I just wonder if things are, well, just a little too stale with the Penguins at this point. It seems like they’re defiantly trying to show that Father Time doesn’t matter so much with their roster.
• Vegas, by the way, acquired a new goalie yesterday (Vegas Hockey Now)
• Detroit Hockey Now: Former Red Wings great and Russian loyalist Slava Fetisov hints that Russia may sue the IIHF.
• Why haven’t the Montreal Canadiens extended the contract of Cole Caulfield yet? (Montreal Hockey Now)
• Shawn Thornton is high on the Bruins’ chances this season (Boston Hockey Now)
• The new NHL 23 video game looks interesting (Washington Hockey Now)
• There’s a new figurine of Nathan MacKinnon that sells for about 56 bucks (Amazon)