Coming this season: Jack Eichel

Jack Eichel had taken his game to new heights once again before the 2019-20 season ended abruptly in March. The Sabres captain had entered the season with an emphasis on scoring goals, and the results showed. His 36 goals in 68 games were a career high and ranked eighth in the NHL.
Once it became official that the Sabres had missed the NHL's expanded playoffs, Eichel got right back to work.
"I've already started preparing for next season now," Eichel said in May. "I'm already back on the ice. I'm already training. I'm already doing things to try and better myself for the start of next season, whenever that is."
It won't be long now. Here's a quick look at the Sabres captain entering 2020-21.

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One big question: How will Eichel and Hall complement one another?

While nothing is ever set in stone before skates hit the ice and lineups can change at the drop of a puck, Ralph Krueger has been open about the fact that he envisions newly acquired forward Taylor Hall skating on the top line alongside Eichel.
"In general, you have to be excited when you think of two elite forwards of that caliber attacking the opposition with the system that we have," Krueger said. "It will be lethal."
It is no stretch to say that Eichel would be the most talented centerman Hall has played with on a regular basis. Eichel has averaged over a point per game for two straight seasons, including a career-best mark of 1.15 in 2019-20.
Taylor Hall's primary centermen during his career have been Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Travis Zajac, Nico Hischier, and Christian Dvorak - all fine players, but none of whom have ever averaged a point per game. Hall spent 2015-16 primarily alongside a young Leon Draisaitl, but that was before Draisaitl had developed into the Hart Trophy winner he is today.
"There's no doubt about it that him being there is a big reason why I chose Buffalo," Hall said of Eichel. "He's an amazing hockey player. I think that he took a great step last year. Now it's about, can we find a way to get him in the playoffs and really produce on a stage that I feel that he deserves?"

Number to know: 1.15

We already mentioned Eichel's points per game average above. It has increased each season since he entered the league:
2015-16: 0.69
2016-17: 0.93
2017-18: 0.96
2018-19: 1.06
2019-20: 1.15
Eichel recorded 20 multi-point games last season, good for 13th in the NHL. His seven multi-goal games ranked fifth.

What he's saying:

Eichel to NHL.com on Buffalo's offseason additions:"Whenever you can add people like Taylor Hall and Eric Staal and Cody Eakin to your roster and the locker room, they not only bring talent to the ice but also veteran presence to the locker room," he said. "In a situation like ours where we're trying to find a winning culture with a young group and trying to figure out the right way to do things at times, I think having older guys can help you out especially during periods of adversity."

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What they're saying:

Kyle Okposo on being reminded of Eichel while watching "The Last Dance," a Michael Jordan documentary that aired last spring:](https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/buffalo-sabres-jack-eichel-last-dance/c-317056316) "That sort of mentality is incredible and it is the drive that not very many people have and that's why he was so good. Jack's got that. He's not Jordan, but he has that mindset of just wanting it so bad and that is something that's very rare."

Watch this:

Get ready for this season by reliving Eichel's unforgettable point streak: