- A Rotowire poll named Vegas the NHL’s most-hated team in 11 states, tops in the league
- Eichel waved it off after the Cup Final loss: “Vegas ain’t on people’s no-trade list”
- Read below for Eichel’s full year-end media response and the video
Jack Eichel isn’t bothered by Vegas wearing the black hat.
A Rotowire poll in May tabbed the Golden Knights as the team fans hate most, naming Vegas the most-loathed club in 11 states. Eichel got the question during the team’s year-end media availability Tuesday, a day after the Stanley Cup Final loss to Carolina.
“Who voted on that? Random bunch of people?” Eichel said. “If you ask guys in the league, Vegas ain’t on people’s no-trade list. This is a place people want to be, and people want to play, and this is an organization that people want to be a part of.”
Watch Eichel’s full year-end session here:
None of the hate is new. Vegas has reached the Final three times since 2017 and won the whole thing in 2023, and the cap gymnastics along the way haven’t earned the Knights many friends around the league.
Eichel’s own path backs the pitch. Buffalo balked at the neck surgery he wanted back in 2021, so the Sabres traded him to Vegas. He got the procedure, returned to the lineup, and lifted a Cup two seasons later.
The 2026 run ended a win short. Vegas heard plenty when Eichel went quiet in Game 5 of the Final, and the series slipped away from there.
The most-hated tag fits a team that keeps showing up deep into June. Eichel sounds happy to keep wearing the villain hat.
