Forget about an elephant in the room. This is an entire herd. Eichel is not the guy we've seen the last two years. He was invisible again for long stretches Saturday -- not getting a single shot on goal for more than 48 minutes.
Eichel has five goals in 20 games, tallying just once in his last 11. He's got a minus-9 rating for the season. Those are the numbers. Now let's move to things you can't measure.
Eichel's body language has been terrible much of season. It's a dirty little secret fans are finally figuring out that he floats off the ice far too much on the end of his shifts.
Just don't tell Housley that. The coach simply isn't dissing any of his players in public, let alone the face of the franchise. Fair enough. You can respect that. And Housley certainly knows what happened to Byslma seven months ago too.
On one second-period play, Eichel was easily stripped of the puck by Carolina's Sebastian Aho. It's the kind of lax play you've seen more from him in the first 20 games this season than in his first two years combined.
Eichel got his wish with the firing of Bylsma, and he wasn't alone in that desire either. He got his $80 million contract as well last month. He better start repaying this franchise even before he starts collecting those big bucks come July.
Observations:
February 2017 - The 20-year old Kempe finally got into his first NHL action in mid-February, with a call-up to the Kings. Through his first six NHL games, Kempe has scored two assists and has shown some of the reasons that he is highly regarded in the Kings organization. In his first game, Kempe flashed his speed to create an excellent chance on a breakaway. However, much like his season in Ontario, with all of the positives also come some negatives, as he still will need to find more consistency to get to the next level. This is evident in the coaches decision on playing time which in the first six games has fluctuated from a high of 15:18 to a low of 8:30. In his last two games, Kempe has gotten some powerplay time, and he had an assist on the powerplay. If Kempe can build chemistry with Kopitar and find better consistency, he might start producing sooner rather than later. Philip Kamhi
October 2016 - Following a strong training camp, Kempe impressed the Kings enough to earn an extended audition with the NHL club. He got into four preseason games, and although he was scoreless, his speed was effective and he did not look out of place. He was given an opportunity on scoring lines, even playing in place of Kopitar on the top line and playing with Pearson and Toffoli. It is evident that the Kings view him as a top-six player. Having impressed Kings brass with his play in training camp and preseason, he will likely get into his first NHL games soon. Philip Kamhi
September 2016 – Things really slowed down for Kempe in the second half of his season with the Reign, he scored 20 points in his first 32 games (0.63 points per game), but only eight more in the final 23 games (0.35 points per game). You can call it inconsistency, but when he was on his game speed and skill is evident. Make no mistake, this was a young rookie (19-years old), who just came to North America and is still adjusting to the game. He will make adjustments, and is likely to develop more consistency. Look for a strong training camp from Kempe, but it's unlikely that he sees more than a cup of coffee this season (barring significant NHL injuries). Philip Kamhi
January 2016 – The 19-year-old Kempe has had a decent first half of his rookie pro season in North America. Through 32 games with the Reign, he had 20 points. Kempe also represented Sweden in the U20 WJC, where he had eight points in seven games and was awarded the Top 3 Player on Team. After returning to the Reign in January, Kempe has not produced as much as he did earlier, with only four points in 11 games. Kempe will need to dig in, but this is likely part of the learning experience. Philip Kamhi
May 2015 - While Kempe's SHL icetime almost doubled, his production didn't follow suit. His average time on ice jumped from 8:27 (2013-14) to 15:14, but his points per game barely rose (0.24 to 0.34). However, the Swede is only 19 and did enjoy an excellent WJC. The 6-2 right winger already possesses above-average NHL speed, but we'll see where his hands are at this fall in the AHL. Sheng Peng
February 2014 – Kempe has an excellent frame that moves extremely well chasing down loose pucks with an aggressive pursuit often initiating contact and engaging in puck battles with great success. His north-south style of game combines well with his strong skating stride as this power forward puts defenders on their heels with his unrelenting attack. Kempe drives the net hard and shows good puck handling ability, especially in the dirty areas of the rink. Brendan Ross
Fantasy Outlook: B-
The 2014 first-rounder is a pretty sure bet to be an NHLer but may not own high upside.
I'd smash that prop bet for the Ducks. Were I a gambler, of course. pic.twitter.com/b21AbaABVM
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) October 20, 2017
The @MapleLeafs have won six of their first seven games in a season for the seventh time in their 100-year franchise history. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/3Dlw6Y1eZo
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 19, 2017
"I just walked in and tried to fake a pass, get (Forsberg) leaning a bit and snuck it by him," Matthews said.
"I thought we showed a lot of poise being able to crawl back into it," he added. "As the game went on we got better and better and that's the way you want to play."
