darksabre

Rochester needs players too, man.

Nice

Oh I think once Paul picks you as one of his favorites you stay that way forever 😅

I'm bumping this one to mention a comment Paul Hamilton made on WGR last night. In response to a caller asking who the leadership of this team is going to be, he didn't even hesitate to say Cozens. Hamilton praised him as being very mature for his age and for being someone who is already mentally prepared to carry the load. Said he thought there would be no reason not to pin the C on him in the fall. Paul Hamilton appreciates Dylan Cozens somethin fierce.

Thank you. The problem with Tom Wilson isn't that he's a dirtbag, it's that he's good at hockey in this version of the NHL.

That's fine, we can disagree on the substance of the Eichel camp's statements.

None of the stuff that has been stated publicly by Jack or his agent is convincing. Honestly.

When and where?

This is more world building. Everyone thinks Jack wants out and there's STILL no evidence that this is true. All we know is that a. Jack has been frustrated with the losing and that b. he also wanted surgery so he could speed up recovery from injury. These are not the mountains people are making them out to be. In fact I'm convinced more than ever that Jack had no idea the Sabres were as serious about shopping him this off-season as they have been. It's very clear that this is why they blocked his surgery. He doesn't like it, but it's not that big of a deal. Who is to say that Jack being here stops them from getting a high pick? It hasn't been an issue so far. Jack isn't getting in the way of Cozens or anyone behind him in the center group developing right now. It's fine.

I'm confident this is a possibility.

I don't see how Jack being here in the fall disrupts anything at all. His contract isn't getting in the way, and he's not a detriment to the on ice product. He's not a vet taking up space. He can be here if that's the case.

I feel like it can be posturing while also being true. KA may want to get the deal done, and he may be posturing to get his best return, but there's no reason to assume Jack really wouldn't be expected in camp if the trade doesn't come to fruition before then. It's a distinct possibility that he really does end up still being on the team in October and I'm surprised anyone would think otherwise.

Good. Hurt feelings ain't sh*t.

"we have a player under contract" hmmmm that sure sounds like what I've been saying over and over again about Jack's supposed leverage...

Right. No idea if it's the right thing to do, but it's definitely not the first time I've heard them bring the idea up.

Granato basically hinted that this was going to be a thing back at his end of season presser. Said they think a lot of players develop just fine in the NHL and are more ready than teams sometimes think.

I'm just gonna say my piece here, but a lot of us have been aggressively following not only this team but sports in general for a looooooong time, and after a while you start to notice the same things happening over and over again. -Fans love world building. They love creating stories around their teams, and the players are characters built up out of little bits and fragments of information accumulated, augmented, and crafted into something "real". But the truth is that we don't really know these guys, and we don't really know anything about their world. -A large majority of the stuff fans think is happening, isn't. -A large majority of the stuff fans think is important is in fact completely inconsequential.

Bold move

Why should NHL players be congratulating draft picks? Why do we need this dog and pony show for teenagers who aren't even on the team? If Owen Power and Jack Eichel ever end up in the same lockerroom together then Jack can congratulate him on making it. Until then it's just more manufactured reasons to dislike a player by fans who need a constant IV drip of drama.

Why

I don't recall this ever having been a thing. Sports fans are the absolute worst

I don't believe the narrative manufactured by the media and fans here that there was bad blood between Eichel and O'Reilly.

I don't follow. When did Jack make his injuries a problem during the season? Did he not selflessly try to push through them for the sake of the team?

I guess playing through debilitating injuries isn't leadership