Jack Eichel and the Vegas Golden Knights have agreed to terms on an eight-year contract extension worth $108 million, the club announced Wednesday.
Eichel will count $13.5 million against the salary cap from the time the new contract kicks in for the 2026-27 season through 2034.
“There’s definitely some peace of mind that comes with getting something done,” Eichel said after the Golden Knights’ 6-5 shootout loss to Los Angeles on Wednesday. I said all along I wanted to be here and play for the Vegas Golden Knights. So really happy to get it done. So happy to continue my career here in Vegas. It’s been an incredible place for me and my family. Just very thankful and grateful.”
Eichel said the organization's continued effort to build a perennial contender was a big reason he wanted to stay in Vegas.
“It’s one of the reasons why I think this is such a special place to play,” he said. "It’s an organization that wants to win the Stanley Cup every year, and as a player, that’s all you can ask for. We know they’re going to do what’s necessary to give us a chance to win, and that’s what I want to do.
“Continue to push to win another Stanley Cup here in Vegas, and it was a huge part of my decision.”
The soon-to-be 29-year-old center is the latest high-profile player to re-up with his current team after Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov inked the richest deal in league history at $136 million over eight years, Connor McDavid opted to stay in Edmonton on a short-term deal without a raise from his current $12.5 million salary and Kyle Connor re-signed in Winnipeg for the maximum eight years at $12 million annually.
Eichel set career highs with 66 assists and 94 points last season, when the Golden Knights finished first in the Pacific Division. He helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2023.
His representatives and Vegas' front office reached the agreement roughly six hours before the start of the season. Asked before training camp opened if he would shut down negotiations once meaningful games get going, Eichel brushed off the question.
"If a contract happens organically, then it happens," Eichel said last month in Las Vegas at the NHL/NHLPA preseason player media tour. "You can only control so much, right, and that’s sort of in my mindset. What are the things that I focus on? Preparing for the season, getting my mind and body in the best place to be successful and help our hockey team. That’s more so my focus. I think anything else sort of just takes care of itself when you do your job well.”
Eichel was the second pick in the 2015 draft by Buffalo. He played his first five-plus seasons for the Sabres before a dispute over surgery to repair as neck injury led to a trade to Vegas in '21.
Since undergoing artificial disk replacement, Eichel has produced above a point-a-game level for the Knights. He was the No. 1 center for the U.S. at the 4 Nations Face-Off and has already been selected to the Olympic team.
“Good for Jack, I’m happy for him,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Great guy, deserves every penny. Glad to see he committed for eight years here.”
AP Freelance Writer W.G. Ramirez contributed to this story.
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FILE - Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) skates with the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes, File)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones blasted apartment buildings and the power grid in the southern Ukraine city of Odesa in an overnight attack that injured six people, including a toddler and two other children, officials said Wednesday.
Four apartment buildings were damaged in the bombardment, according to regional military administration head Oleh Kiper. Power company DTEK said two of its energy facilities suffered significant damage. The company said that 10 substations that distribute electricity in the Odesa region were damaged in December alone.
Russia has this year escalated its long-range attacks on urban areas of Ukraine. In recent months, as Russia’s invasion of its neighbor approaches its four-year milestone in February, it has also intensified its targeting of energy infrastructure, seeking to deny Ukrainians heat and running water in the bitter winter months.
From January to November this year, more than 2,300 Ukrainian civilians were killed and more than 11,000 were injured, the United Nations said earlier this month. That was 26% higher than in the same period in 2024 and 70% higher than in 2023, it said.
Russia’s sustained drone and missile attacks have taken place against backdrop of renewed diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.
U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Florida resort on Sunday and announced that a settlement is “closer than ever before." The Ukrainian leader is due to hold talks next week with the heads of European governments supporting his efforts to secure acceptable terms.
The ongoing attacks, meantime, are inflaming tensions.
The overnight Odesa strikes “are further evidence of the enemy’s terror tactics, which deliberately target civilian infrastructure,” Kiper, the regional head, said.
Moscow has alleged that Ukraine attempted to attack Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence in northwestern Russia with 91 long-range drones late Sunday and early Monday. Ukrainian officials deny the claim and say it’s a ruse to derail progress in the peace negotiations.
Maj. Gen. Alexander Romanenkov of the Russian air force claimed Wednesday that the drones took off from Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv regions.
At a briefing where no questions were allowed, he presented a map showing the drone flight routes before they were downed by Russian air defenses over the Bryansk, Tver, Smolensk and Novgorod regions.
It was not possible to independently verify the reports.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, on Wednesday called the Russian allegations “a deliberate distraction” from the peace talks.
“No one should accept unfounded claims from the aggressor who has indiscriminately targeted Ukraine’s infrastructure and civilians since the start of the war,” Kallas posted on X.
Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Romania and Croatia are the latest countries to join a fund that buys weapons for Ukraine from the United States. The financial arrangement, known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, pools contributions from NATO members, except the United States, to purchase American weapons, munitions and equipment.
Since it was established in August, 24 countries are now contributing to the fund, according to Zelenskyy. The fund has so far received $4.3 billion, with almost $1.5 billion coming in December alone, he said on social media.
Ukraine’s air force said Wednesday that Russia fired 127 drones at the country during the night, with 101 of them intercepted by air defenses.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that 86 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over Russian regions, the Black Sea and the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula.
The Ukrainian attack started a fire at an oil refinery in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, but it was quickly put out, local authorities said.
This story has corrected the day of the alleged Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian president’s residence to late Sunday and early Monday.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this image made from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, a Russian Army soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
