Friedman Interviews Jack Eichel

[Doohickie]

1 hour ago, WildCard said:

I also don't think KA handled this well at all in the media. 

We always talked about XGMTM being a ZFG kind of guy.  I think that as long as he's got the support of ownership, Kevyn Adams is the epitome of a ZFG guy.  He doesn't care what the media thinks.  He really doesn't.  If he builds a good team, I have ZF to G myself.  I'm okay with that. 

[miles]

6 minutes ago, WildCard said:

How is he spoiled? We sucked for years and he has a window. Is he obligated to waste his entire career here because we drafted him?

He signed a 10 year deal,so yeah,  put in 10 years worth of full effort. If you want to quit 4 or however many years into it, he should have signed for that amount of time

[WildCard]

3 minutes ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

We always talked about XGMTM being a ZFG kind of guy.  I think that as long as he's got the support of ownership, Kevyn Adams is the epitome of a ZFG guy.  He doesn't care what the media thinks.  He really doesn't.  If he builds a good team, I have ZF to G myself.  I'm okay with that. 

It's not about caring what the media thinks. He is the GM of the team and the voice of it. He didn't handle his statements with the poise or care of a professional; he left a star player out to dry and treated him like a high school girlfriend in a public breakup. That's not how good, professional organizations act. At least his presser today was better.

1 minute ago, miles said:

He signed a 10 year deal,so yeah,  put in 10 years worth of full effort. If you want to quit 4 or however many years into it, he should have signed for that amount of time

I'm not going to call him spoiled for using the avenues he had to his disposal to do what's best for him. When he signed his contracts I'm sure the Sabres promised him we'd be competitive and they failed to live up to that billing. Athletes don't have an out-clause for when the employer doesn't live up to their side of a bargain so this is what happens. If the Sabres did their job he'd still be here.

[Doohickie]

59 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Did it fail because Adams struggled with fielding a team that can win, so he decided to, again, go with what he originally wanted, a long rebuild, rather than trusting his abilities to get it right?

My gut feel is that he knew from the start that Krueger was the wrong coach, but that ownership wasn't ready to fire Krueger.  So he put in a good faith effort to get Krueger the players he wanted, the capstone of which was Hall. 

If that 2020-21 season had gone well, Eichel healthy, Hall and Eichel clicked, a playoff run or at least close to it, then fine.  But when Eichel's neck blew out, Hall fizzled, the 12 (eventually 18) game losing streak, getting rid of Krueger, bringing in Granato, it became apparent that the long build was coming.  The trade became difficult when it was determined Eichel needed surgery and the parties couldn't agree on which surgery. 

I would say given the hand he was dealt, Kevyn Adams has done yeoman's work.  There were mistakes made, but now that we're in full-on rebuild mode I think he's making the right moves.... moves that should have been made 5 years ago instead of moving futures out for what turned out to be questionable vets.

[dudacek]

Two parties who once seemed perfect for each other discovered 6 years later that they no longer wanted the same things.

I don't blame Kevyn for wanting to push the reset button. The organization sucked and it was needed.

I don't blame Jack for wanting to be focused on winning now entering his prime after five years of losing.

It was a divorce. And, hard as it might be to accept for kids (us), it was the right move for these particular parties at this time.

Edited November 4, 2021 by dudacek

[miles]

4 minutes ago, WildCard said:

It's not about caring what the media thinks. He is the GM of the team and the voice of it. He didn't handle his statements with the poise or care of a professional; he left a star player out to dry and treated him like a high school girlfriend in a public breakup. That's not how good, professional organizations act. At least his presser today was better.

I'm not going to call him spoiled for using the avenues he had to his disposal to do what's best for him. When he signed his contracts I'm sure the Sabres promised him we'd be competitive and they failed to live up to that billing. Athletes don't have an out-clause for when the employer doesn't live up to their side of a bargain so this is what happens. If the Sabres did their job he'd still be here.

 

 

I dont disagree that the sabres have done almost nothing right in many, many years. I 100% agree with it, but jack was the captain. He didnt act like it. 

It just rubs me the wrong way. In my opinion, He never seemed mature enough.  I of course could be completely incorrect, but from the outside looking in, i just see a spoiled kid that took his ball and went home because things didnt go his way

[Gatorman0519]

I’m going to miss having a superstar. There is something different when a player can take the whole crowd off their feet and make the most incredible moves and goals. The OT goal against Nashville I’ll always remember. 

Edited November 4, 2021 by Gatorman0519

[Doohickie]

18 minutes ago, WildCard said:

Is he obligated to waste his entire career here because he signed an 8 year contract?

Fixed your question, and the answer is, well, yes.  He's lucky to get out because he wasn't going to be part of a winning team here.  I think if anyone could have won him over it was Granato, but by the time Granato was running things, the train had left the station.

[Cal Naughton Jr]

I don’t blame him for wanting out. All that losing has to take a toll on you. But also, ***** Jack Eichel 

[SDS]

10 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Two parties who once seemed perfect for each other discovered 6 years later that they no longer wanted the same things.

I don't blame Kevyn for wanting to push the reset button. The organization sucked and it was needed.

I don't blame Jack for wanting to be focused on winning now entering his prime after five years of losing.

It was a divorce. And, hard as it might be to accept for kids (us), it was the right move for these particular parties at this time.

The team is the horse and Adams is the cart. No GM wants to rebuild, they all want to be handed a great team. He was handed a different team, burdened with years of failure, and their best players all wanted out.

To say that Adams wanted a rebuild is kind of like saying the person who was on fire wanted to be doused in water.

[Skip21]

Not sure if this has been posted already. 6min52 sec version of interview…

 

 

[Thorny]

1 hour ago, triumph_communes said:

Pretty much every narrative about Eichel being spoiled was confirmed. He initiated conversation to leave when KA started, it wasn’t KA’s choice. The whole charade about surgery had nothing to do with Eichel wanting out, he would’ve been locker room cancer even if he had ADR and was healthy again. 

The surgery isn't a "charade" at all, that's ridiculous. You don't think, if they could agree on surgery, they would have done it ages ago so as to speed up the process? Plenty of people (I think I may have even said it was possible) accused Eichel of "faking" a desire for a different surgery to force a trade. Isn't Eichel scheduled for ADR, now?

Guess Eichel wasn't faking. 

Edited November 4, 2021 by Thorny

[Thorny]

15 minutes ago, SDS said:

The team is the horse and Adams is the cart. No GM wants to rebuild, they all want to be handed a great team. He was handed a different team, burdened with years of failure, and their best players all wanted out.

To say that Adams wanted a rebuild is kind of like saying the person who was on fire wanted to be doused in water.

Aren't Risto and Reinhart both are on record saying they were open to signing? Reinhart, when Adams first came aboard? We can't forget, Adams also bridged Reinhart. 

I don't think needing to deal JE, who wants out because you told him you wanted to rebuild, is tantamount to saying he had no choice but to rebuild. Who couldn't he have kept, if he said he was "going for it?". Even if Jack is lying, and he wanted out regardless, did the team have to rebuild because of that?

I guess I totally see why rebuilding could be the best course of action but struggle mightily with the idea that it wasn't really a choice, which is what you are saying. 

[SDS]

3 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Aren't Risto and Reinhart both are on record saying they were open to signing? Reinhart, when Adams first came aboard? We can't forget, Adams also bridged Reinhart. 

I don't think needing to deal JE, who wants out because you told him you wanted to rebuild, is tantamount to saying he had no choice but to rebuild. Who couldn't he have kept, if he said he was "going for it?". Even if Jack is lying, and he wanted out regardless, did the team have to rebuild because of that?

I guess I totally see why rebuilding could be the best course of action but struggle mightily with the idea that it wasn't really a choice, which is what you are saying. 

The time before the 2020 season and the time after the 2020 season are remarkably different. We can list the what ifs of last year and maybe all those fallen dominos changes what has transpired. 

When the season ended last year, given everything that transpired, I believe Adams was forced to rebuild, given the product on the ice, and the attitudes of the players when the season ended. He didn’t choose to rebuild in 2020, he chose to rebuild in 2021.

[Thorny]

1 minute ago, SDS said:

The time before the 2020 season and the time after the 2020 season are remarkably different. We can list the what ifs of last year and maybe all those fallen dominos changes what has transpired. 

When the season ended last year, given everything that transpired, I believe Adams was forced to rebuild, given the product on the ice, and the attitudes of the players when the season ended. He didn’t choose to rebuild in 2020, he chose to rebuild in 2021.

Fair. But can we agree that some of the reasons he made that choice in 2021 (wait, so it was a choice? If you agree with that, I literally have no issue whatsoever with your take) are because of choices he made in 2020? He's still culpable for the results. I mentioned Reinhart - he could have extended him in 2020, taking the situation where he "necessarily" had to move him in 2021, off the table. 

[irregularly irregular]

Interesting stuff. Shed a brighter light on what really happened over the past year or so. 

What jumped out at me the second I saw the thread title was that Friedman got paid by being the first to interview Jack after the trade was announced. Those of you questioning were all those rumors were coming from should ask Pat Brisson how many times in the past couple months he happened to have a nonchalant chat with his old buddy. Friedman has been carrying lots of water as of late. 

[SabresVet]

1 hour ago, Gatorman0519 said:

We had an elite superstar and our management failed to build a team around him. Bottom line. Inept front office and coaching. Hopefully KA and all the new people in the front office will do this right in rebuild 3.0. Maybe out if the ashes the franchise will resurrect back to the top. It’s honestly been a mismanaged team since 07 and has never stopped. That’s why we are looking at the NHL playoff futility record. 

I think it's important to turn the page on the Murray/Botterill years and how colossal a failure they were.  Just so many bad decisions, but I'll always have the back of my mind that the Pegula's want a significant say in hockey operations.  At this point, all we can hope for is A) Adams is set up for success with a minimum of interference from these owners and B) he uses that and makes solid hockey decisions to rebuild fast.  

We'll see.  

25 minutes ago, Gatorman0519 said:

I’m going to miss having a superstar. There is something different when a player can take the whole crowd off their feet and make the most incredible moves and goals. The OT goal against Nashville I’ll always remember. 

I can't help but think this team will resemble Vegas in a few years: solid lines but no star and needing that one player to get over the top.     

[Thorny]

Just now, SabresVet said:

I think it's important to turn the page on the Murray/Botterill years and how colossal a failure they were.  Just so many bad decisions, but I'll always have the back of my mind that the Pegula's want a significant say in hockey operations.  At this point, all we can hope for is A) Adams is set up for success with a minimum of interference from these owners and B) he uses that and makes solid hockey decisions to rebuild fast.  

We'll see.  

I can't help but think this team will resemble Vegas in a few years: solid lines but no star and needing that one player to get over the top.     

I think we need to draw a line between "stars" and "perceived" star. Is Mark Stone not a "star"? If not, it didn't stop him from being....a better player than Jack since Jack came into the league? Vegas has/had stars. 

[aristocrat]

We couldn’t put the right coach and players around him. It sucks being a fan it’s gotta suck being a player losing all the time. 

[Cheektorado]

38 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Two parties who once seemed perfect for each other discovered 6 years later that they no longer wanted the same things.

I don't blame Kevyn for wanting to push the reset button. The organization sucked and it was needed.

I don't blame Jack for wanting to be focused on winning now entering his prime after five years of losing.

It was a divorce. And, hard as it might be to accept for kids (us), it was the right move for these particular parties at this time.

Couldn't of said it better myself!

[Doohickie]

15 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Aren't Risto and Reinhart both are on record saying they were open to signing? Reinhart, when Adams first came aboard? We can't forget, Adams also bridged Reinhart. 

Maybe that was the hint.  Right from the start Adams was thinking full rebuild and wanted to limit his commitment to the current core.  Then he signed Hall and Eakin and whoever to make Jack and Ralph happy, but he was already making subtle moves to facilitate a rebuild.

[thewookie1]

It’s just overall sad. I both understand why he wanted out after all the losing but simultaneously hate him for taking the captaincy and literally giving up after 1.75 seasons. The fact that Eichel wouldn’t even commit to staying if he had the ADR is really telling and likely was part of our extreme risk-adverse behavior.

The fact Adams tried to stick band aids on the team last year shows how much Adams wanted to see if they could smooth things over but obviously that never worked out. I’d also be remiss to not say KA may have felt Eichel would dog it regardless and thus the whole “players who want to be here” mantra coming out.

The Sabres hold plenty of fault but I still put the onus on Eichel for wanting out a year after signing an 8 year contract. It’s plain conceited.

[Doohickie]

23 minutes ago, Thorny said:

I guess I totally see why rebuilding could be the best course of action but struggle mightily with the idea that it wasn't really a choice, which is what you are saying. 

I think it was Kevyn's choice from the time he was hired.  The Pegulas were not convinced though so he tried to augment the current roster in accordance with their (and Krueger's) wishes.  I think it was a good faith effort on his part to make the Sabres a legit playoff team, building off what was already here.  When the wheels fell off last season he took his plan to the Pegulas and they finally bought in on the rebuild idea.

[Doohickie]

1 minute ago, thewookie1 said:

I’d also be remiss to not say KA may have felt Eichel would dog it regardless and thus the whole “players who want to be here” mantra coming out.

My feeling is that because Adams was in the Sabres org prior to being GM, he had done a lot of observation of the players and the locker room, etc.  He'd made his assessments prior to being hired as GM.  He knew which players wanted out and wasn't going to fight them on it.  He further knew that without those players, there really wasn't much else to do but rebuild.  I agree with his overall path... let's see if he's right.

[Thorny]

6 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

It’s just overall sad. I both understand why he wanted out after all the losing but simultaneously hate him for taking the captaincy and literally giving up after 1.75 seasons. The fact that Eichel wouldn’t even commit to staying if he had the ADR is really telling and likely was part of our extreme risk-adverse behavior.

The fact Adams tried to stick band aids on the team last year shows how much Adams wanted to see if they could smooth things over but obviously that never worked out. I’d also be remiss to not say KA may have felt Eichel would dog it regardless and thus the whole “players who want to be here” mantra coming out.

The Sabres hold plenty of fault but I still put the onus on Eichel for wanting out a year after signing an 8 year contract. It’s plain conceited.

Don't really understand this bit. Eichel told us, straight up, the reason he wanted out. Isn't that rather candid, in general? How often do we see hockey players do that? It seems to be a rather underplayed aspect of this all, today. I admire the honesty. He seemed to cut directly to the point more quickly than Adams has over the last few months, not that I blame him. (Also easier for Jack because he's not on the team anymore). Remarkably candid, I'd call his statements, though, considering what you see in interviews normally. Why would he say he'd stay, if he got the surgery? Wouldn't that have belittled what he said about the reason he wanted out? He's being honest. I took his comment at face value - he can't predict how things may have possibly changed so he said "I don't know". 

Edited November 4, 2021 by Thorny