Sabres' Jack Eichel Missed Out on a $2-Million Bonus by 0.01 Points

It was a costly final day of the NHL season for Jack Eichel, who lost out on a fat amount of cash by the slimmest of margins.

As first reported by Cap Friendly and later confirmed by The Associated Press, Eichel has a clause in his entry level contract that would have guaranteed him a $2-million bonus this season had he finished among the top 10 leaders in points per game.

It looked good for the sophomore forward going into the final day of the season, but after Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl buried a late third-period goal on Connor McDavid's 100th point of the season against the Canucks, Eichel was pushed out of the top 10 in PPG and missed out on his hefty bonus by 0.01 points.

Leon Draisaitl's 2 pts last night knocked — CapFriendly (@CapFriendly)April 10, 2017

With only one point on Sunday instead of two, Draisaitl would've finished the season at .926 points per game, putting Eichel into the No. 10 spot and earning him an extra $2 million.

It's fitting that the assist on Draisaitl's tally was delivered by McDavid, who was the only player selected ahead of Eichel in the 2015 draft and has been linked with the Sabres star forward ever since, as many back-to-back top picks often are. The 2017 Art Ross Trophy winner didn't have any such issues with his bonuses, however, as for the second season in a row McDavid maxed out all of his potential bonuses and earned himself an extra $2.8 million, according to Cap Friendly.

Eichel's 57 points were one more than he recorded in his rookie season, but he accomplished the mark in 20 fewer games this year. The 20-year-old put up 24 goals and 33 assists in just 61 games after missing the beginning of the season with a high-ankle sprain. Though he missed out on a big payday this season, there's no doubt that his time will come. While he's been held back by injuries and flown under the radar playing for a downright awful Sabres team, Eichel is easily one of the top five young players in the game and his salary going forward will surely reflect that.

Missing out on $2 million still sucks, though.