Thought these comments were interesting. With all the cap space, it hardly seems like the Sabres are all in:
Jack Eichel spoke at NHL media days this week and a reporter asked him what it’s like to play for a team like the Golden Knights, who have an ownership and management group that has shown a willingness to make bold moves to maximize the chances of a championship every season.
“I think that’s the place you want to be,” Eichel said. “I went from one polar opposite to the other. It was almost like in Buffalo for a few years we were always working toward the future, right? It was never about right now. I understand that situation. It was about getting draft picks, developing them and working toward what we could be a year, two years, whatever it might be from now. But at the same time, when you’re in the situation and you’re the player representing the team every on the ice it’s like, ‘I want to win. I want to be competitive now.’ To be able to play in a place where the goal and the standard every season is to be the last team, it’s the best. It’s what you want as a player.”
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5760170/2024/09/11/sabres-eichel-savoie-trade/
by The-Real-Larry
6 Comments
He’s not wrong.
Pretty Damning.
I ask again. Name the player that we didn’t get that you want. This year was pretty lackluster for ufas. It is *clear* that Kevin made an attempt to spend money. Necas wouldn’t sign here. I’m sure there were other deals (and Kevin has said as much). There really wasn’t anyone else that Buffalo had hopes at getting that would have made the fans happy. Shit, even if we signed necas, half the fanbase would bitch that we overpaid or that he is just “skinner 2.0” or some other crap. Teams arent just letting good players go. I DONT WANT TO SPEND MONEY JUST FOR THE SAKE OF SPENDING MONEY.
I was never an Eichel fan, but also assign to the Sabres much of his difficulty. Tanking put the team in a hole both talent wise and in team attitude and morale. Once Eichel arrived, they seem to put more stock and keeping him happy than structuring a team. Making him captain did not aid in his development.
Also, getting people to come to Buffalo is much different than getting people to sign up to play in Las Vegas. Buffalo’s best option in becoming a force is to do it primarily through the draft.
Again what Eichel said has validity but it’s not as simple as it sounds
When a guy talks like this to the media, Imagine what the players say to each other. No free agent wants to come to Buffalo. Everyone with a NMC vetoes Buffalo. If the draft picks don’t work out they are screwed
Eichel was drafted in 2015. That year they traded Tyler Myers for Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian. Traded a first round pick for Robin Lehner and traded Nikita Zadorov for Ryan O’Reilly.
The next season 2016, they added Kyle Okposo as a UFA.
2017 was O’Reilly’s last season because he quit on the Sabres. Possibly (probably?) due to Eichel’s attitude and the team’s lack of accountability.
2018, they traded for Brandon Montour and Jeff Skinner.
2019, added Wayne Simmond and Marco Scandella for a playoff push.
2020, Taylor Hall.
So when were the Sabres not trying to build around Eichel when he was here?