Jack Eichel is getting paid.

Now, he needs to show he's worthy of the eight-year, $80-million contract extension signed with the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.

And he knows it, too.

"I think I have a lot to prove," Eichel said back in training camp. "Actually I think I've proven nothing, so it's a huge year for me personally and as a team.

"If you look at what I've done, it hasn't been a whole lot; two mediocre seasons on a losing team, so we just need to be better as a group this year, and I think everyone went home with the mindset this summer that we wanted to get better and head into the season and hit the ground running."

It's true that Eichel, the second overall pick in 2015, hasn't exploded onto the scene along the same lines as other recent top picks like Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, and Patrik Laine. He doesn't have any individual awards, has not appeared in any playoff games, and maxed out last season at 24 goals and 33 assists, well below his highly touted contemporaries.

The caveat here, of course, is that Eichel started 2016-17 on injured reserve after spraining his ankle just before the regular season began. Unable to play until Nov. 29, he went on to post those aforementioned totals over the course of 61 games, good for a point-per-game average of 0.93.

Among all players to appear in at least 61 games, Eichel ranked 11th in that category, giving a more accurate reflection of his place in the hockey landscape.

What's more, Eichel ranked first in shots per game with 4.08 last season, but was stuck on a shooting percentage of 9.6. As a point of comparison, Sidney Crosby led the league with 44 goals on 255 shots (17.6 percent success rate), firing only six more pucks on net than Eichel.

With that in mind, Eichel should be in for a monster 2017-18 - one that should justify or even surpass expectations for the average annual salary that only five other players will match this sesaon.

Indeed, that's why his agent suggested he play out the final year of his entry-level contract before signing an extension, in the belief that Eichel could command even more next summer.

It's a testament to Eichel's drive to win that he "settled" for the $80 million, and it's a contract that could look like a bargain for the Sabres in a few years if Eichel can skate the skate, so to speak.

Buffalo has experienced way too much losing for this marriage not to work out.

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