After the Vegas Golden Knights fell short in the Stanley Cup Final, Jack Eichel delivered a blunt response to the hate surrounding his team—after learning Vegas was voted the most hated in the league.
The Vegas Golden Knights won two fewer games than they needed to lift the Stanley Cup.
Instead, they finished the season empty-handed after losing in the Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes, leaving a long offseason ahead and a rebuilding job that stretches beyond the ice.
The noise around Vegas has never been quiet. Since joining the league, the Golden Knights have often been cast as villains, and a recent Rotowire poll showed Vegas is hated arguably more than any other team.
That reality became personal for Jack Eichel on Tuesday, during the team’s exit interviews. In his end-of-season availability, Eichel found out the Golden Knights were voted as the most hated team in the country.
Then he dropped a line that landed like a mic check for anyone still keeping score.
“If you ask guys in the league, Vegas ain’t on people’s no-trade list,” Eichel said. “This is the place people want to be and people want to play. This is an organization that people want to be a part of. I would say all of the players here are proud to represent this city and play for this organization. There’s a lot of amazing things that come with that I sure know that I’m proud to be a part of this city and this organization.”.
The quote spread for a reason: it flips the narrative from the league’s bitterness to what players actually chase. Eichel and the Golden Knights have plenty of evidence to point to on the ice as well.
This postseason, Eichel provided the kind of production that makes outsiders’ opinions feel irrelevant. The standout center is coming off an excellent playoff run that saw him tally 22 points, second in the NHL behind his teammate Mitch Marner.
But the off-ice storyline is changing fast too. On Tuesday, the Golden Knights announced that head coach John Tortorella will not be returning next season after the team’s Cup Final loss.
Tortorella took over for Bruce Cassidy, who was fired with just weeks to go in the regular season, and the move paid dividends in the postseason—getting Vegas playing its best hockey at the right time.
Whoever takes over next will walk into a roster that can still carry big expectations. It’s star-studded, led by Eichel, and it may now have to handle a tougher kind of momentum: the same hate from across the league, rolling in even louder with a new coaching era about to begin.
Vegas Golden Knights Jack Eichel Stanley Cup Final Carolina Hurricanes exit interviews John Tortorella Bruce Cassidy Mitch Marner Rotowire poll NHL
Most hated? lol maybe because they keep losing the Cup. Eichel talking tough but the scoreboard don’t lie.
I don’t get how a team can be “most hated in the country” like it’s a popularity contest. Sounds like sour grapes from other fans. Also Tortorella not coming back? that seems random.
Wait so Vegas was voted most hated in the NHL AND also the country?? I thought it was just a poll not like official. But Eichel saying Vegas ain’t on people’s no-trade list makes it sound like everybody actually wants to be there… so why are they “hated” then? Doesn’t add up.
Tortorella gone after one run? I swear coaching changes happen every five minutes. And everybody acting like Vegas is a villain is just cuz they’re Vegas, like rich people or something. Hurricanes fans probably salty too. Eichel’s quote is kinda cool though, like “we’re wanted” but the team still ended empty-handed, so idk