A Knights Tale: From Sabre to Knight; one man’s failure to make the playoffs AND how it benefits the Sabres draft position

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, klos1963 said:

It's kinda ridiculous to think that a player missing a year of hockey, having a risky neck surgery was expected to be the savior of a team, joining them after the new year. He played mostly well and then hit a wall the last bunch of games, not totally unexpected. The team was inconsistent before he suited up, and not much changed after. Lot of key injuries all season.

Ya, and we blamed everybody but Eichel when he was here too but the fact is Vegas was a lot worse with him then they were before he suited up and we got a lot better with him gone. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

From the Athletic:  https://theathletic.com/3273694/2022/04/27/down-goes-brown-finding-3-positive-thoughts-for-each-of-the-non-playoff-teams/

Buffalo Sabres Positive No. 3 "Positive thought #3: It sure feels like they won the Jack Eichel trade, doesn’t it?"

Other Sabres positives - Rebound of Skinner and "Legit Young Guys" like Thompson, Tuch, Dahlin and Power.  Also they like Don Granato.

[K-9]

Quote

"On paper, what can anyone say we're missing? We have it all," Pacioretty said. "But at the same time, everyone knows that hard work beats that talent on paper and chemistry is probably what's most important, on and off the ice.

Hmm. 
 

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/33818552/slumping-vegas-golden-knights-officially-eliminated-miss-stanley-cup-playoffs-first

[LGR4GM]

7 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I want Vegas to win tonight and Dallas to win so I can look back at the lowly Sabres beating Vegas and say...

Close enough. 

[North Buffalo]

OMG SDS woke up to seeing Vegas lost in a SO, Dallas lost in a SO as well... almost your prediction... that is too funny

[SwampD]

Meh.

 

To all of it.

 

Hopefully next year, we'll get 24 pages out of our GDTs.

[FogBat]

6 hours ago, HumanSlinky39 said:

Well, at last Jack can go into the offseason secure in the knowledge that he did everything he could, strapping that Knights team on his back with a valiant six game run where he put up...

*checks notes*

...zero goals, 1 assist...

*shuffles papers*

ONE point? In six games? One Goddamn point? And he was a minus 5? Ah, the hell with it...

 

So many good posts about this. I just didn’t want to quote all of them and cause the forum to crash in the process and @SDSforce me to pony up to pay for repairs to the website.

Nonetheless, my first thought about hearing the good news this morning:

GOLF JACK GOLF!

[PromoTheRobot]

7 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Don't worry about Fleury.... He'll be pullin' down $10M the next couple of seasons for the Sabres.  Gotta hit that cap floor somehow.

Is this so crazy? I think not.

[JustOneParade]

8 hours ago, Contempt said:

Am I the only one who wants the Snooze to fly Hammy in to the next Vegas press conference just to ask a smarmy question about that?

Only if its a one-way ticket.

[PromoTheRobot]

7 hours ago, klos1963 said:

He made one wise ass comment and the thin skinned, ever suffering Buffalonian's will never get over it.  Buffalo still upset over blizzard of 77 jokes.

And your point is?

[PromoTheRobot]

7 hours ago, klos1963 said:

fair enough, but I honestly didn't really ever read any negative comments about Eichel until this whole situation took place.  It's amazing how many people quietly hated him before.

Because the notion that Jack was part of the problem was forbidden thought.

[thewookie1]

4 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Because the notion that Jack was part of the problem was forbidden thought.

Pretty much this; hell we likely even policed it in our respective minds as well. The idea that our top skilled player, and what we tanked for, could possibly be the root of the problem was a thought to be terrified of.

Hell, I'll tell you all a story. Back in the whole Eichel vs ROR year a family member of mine, who gave tennis lessons for a few big names in Buffalo (not the sports teams mind you) but people who had direct interaction with Eichel said he might be the problem. Supposedly he had some maturity problems and even wished he could play for Boston/Toronto. He didn't feel Buffalo was a big enough stage for his talent. He was good with Roswell however in spite of his persona he carried. 

I remember telling this family member they were wrong and that Eichel would grow up into a great captain because otherwise we were screwed. After all, many players start their careers with "holier than art thou" personas due to their entire life being the top of their peer group. 

This all being said I still assume Eichel will play well next year after having a full offseason to recuperate as he is a world class talent. However, rather or not he actually reaches his peak is entirely up to him. His drive to win and be as good as McDavid should make him improve yet for some reason he has never changed much as a player/person aside from brief points during the Covid year. I don't know if he's just been convinced that Evander Kane's approach was perfect or he just doesn't respect any vet deemed washed up at the present point as worthless? All I know is unless he has his equivalent to Ovi's "Play Defense" breakthrough; he'll never come close to living up to his potential.

[JustOneParade]

27 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Meh.

 

To all of it.

 

Hopefully next year, we'll get 24 pages out of our GDTs.

I think this is the glorious culmination of almost 2 full seasons of a complete sh*tshow saga. And the board is rightfully reveling in it because Eichel did himself no favors throughout (and to some degree prior).

I also think we will mostly move on now. Hoping for a productive offseason to build upon the last two months of this year. We'll be focused on the Sabres continued resurgence and not give a crap about what's going on out West - other than when the Sabres play Las Vegas.

I think it will be more like 'Eichel is dead to me now' and rarely discussed. But evidence suggests I may be totally off base here. How many years ago did the Sabres trade Ryan O'Reilly? 

[PromoTheRobot]

7 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

Pretty much this; hell we likely even policed it in our respective minds as well. The idea that our top skilled player, and what we tanked for, could possibly be the root of the problem was a thought to be terrified of.

Hell, I'll tell you all a story. Back in the whole Eichel vs ROR year a family member of mine, who gave tennis lessons for a few big names in Buffalo (not the sports teams mind you) but people who had direct interaction with Eichel said he might be the problem. Supposedly he had some maturity problems and even wished he could play for Boston/Toronto. He didn't feel Buffalo was a big enough stage for his talent. He was good with Roswell however in spite of his persona he carried. 

I remember telling this family member they were wrong and that Eichel would grow up into a great captain because otherwise we were screwed. After all, many players start their careers with "holier than art thou" personas due to their entire life being the top of their peer group. 

This all being said I still assume Eichel will play well next year after having a full offseason to recuperate as he is a world class talent. However, rather or not he actually reaches his peak is entirely up to him. His drive to win and be as good as McDavid should make him improve yet for some reason he has never changed much as a player/person aside from brief points during the Covid year. I don't know if he's just been convinced that Evander Kane's approach was perfect or he just doesn't respect any vet deemed washed up at the present point as worthless? All I know is unless he has his equivalent to Ovi's "Play Defense" breakthrough; he'll never come close to living up to his potential.

Acknowledging Eichel's contribution to the Sabres dysfunction doesn't absolve the team or owners. But like in any dysfunctional situation, recognizing you're a mess is the first step to recovery.

[Archie Lee]

Eichel wasn’t “the” problem here and he isn’t “the” problem in Vegas. What the Sabres had wrong and what the Knights now have wrong is the belief that Eichel was/is “the” solution. He isn’t.
 

When fully healthy he is really good. What he isn’t is a generational talent who will lift a moribund franchise out of the darkness. What he isn’t Is an elite “top-five centre in the world” who is the missing piece for a championship team. It’s unfortunate for him that he keeps being casted in roles he is not suited for. 

[inkman]

11 hours ago, Ogre said:

 

That came off wrong. (And I quoted the wrong post @SDS)
 

If creative people are taking the time to create these then, if you are the subject of these creations, you should focus more on not being a wiener.

I understood it the first time.  😎

[PromoTheRobot]

7 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

Eichel wasn’t “the” problem here and he isn’t “the” problem in Vegas. What the Sabres had wrong and what the Knights now have wrong is the belief that Eichel was/is “the” solution. He isn’t.
 

When fully healthy he is really good. What he isn’t is a generational talent who will lift a moribund franchise out of the darkness. What he isn’t Is an elite “top-five centre in the world” who is the missing piece for a championship team. It’s unfortunate for him that he keeps being casted in roles he is not suited for. 

But why isn't he elite with those skills? Head and heart.

Josh Allen is a perfect comparison. Had all the physical gifts but lacked execution. Josh devoted himself to becoming great.

 Jack was always "the guy" since peewees. Always on elite teams. Always sought after. Never doubted. Never put in a less than ideal situations. 

Edited April 28, 2022 by PromoTheRobot

[PromoTheRobot]

 

 

 

[SwampD]

10 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

 

 

Okay. That's funny.

[kas23]

8 hours ago, klos1963 said:

fair enough, but I honestly didn't really ever read any negative comments about Eichel until this whole situation took place.  It's amazing how many people quietly hated him before.

Guess I was a man before my time. 
 

 

[ddaryl]

8 hours ago, Doohickie said:

 

Two GMs didn't know what to do with him, how to build a proper team around him.  That tainted him.  The third didn't either but made the decision to ship him out which now that the bandaid has been ripped off was clearly the correct move.

Personally I think the organization tried to hard to appease Eichel. Game plans, personnel/players, acquisitions/trades were mostly made with the thought process of how it affects Jack. I think that is a big part of what doomed the Sabres tank... They weren't rebuilding a franchise, they were building a Jack Eichel support cast.

Now we see we may actually be much better off without him. Sad part is it cost us Reinhart to.

 

[nfreeman]

1 hour ago, Archie Lee said:

Eichel wasn’t “the” problem here and he isn’t “the” problem in Vegas. What the Sabres had wrong and what the Knights now have wrong is the belief that Eichel was/is “the” solution. He isn’t.
 

When fully healthy he is really good. What he isn’t is a generational talent who will lift a moribund franchise out of the darkness. What he isn’t Is an elite “top-five centre in the world” who is the missing piece for a championship team. It’s unfortunate for him that he keeps being casted in roles he is not suited for. 

So he’s been…cast in an unlikely role?  Ill-equipped to act?  With insufficient tact?

[MBD]

4 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

So he’s been…cast in an unlikely role?  Ill-equipped to act?  With insufficient tact?

One must put up barriers, to keep oneself intact.

[Taro T]

9 hours ago, klos1963 said:

It's kinda ridiculous to think that a player missing a year of hockey, having a risky neck surgery was expected to be the savior of a team, joining them after the new year. He played mostly well and then hit a wall the last bunch of games, not totally unexpected. The team was inconsistent before he suited up, and not much changed after. Lot of key injuries all season.

Interestingly, Eichel was playing well, all things considered, until Stone came back.  After that, neither could do squat.  Causation, merely correlation?  Did he suffer yet another non-neck related injury?  Did the neck act up? 

No data & no idea.  But the odds are very high that the Sabres will have the 15th or more likely 16th pick overall this summer.  That's what really matters.  The rest of the schadenfreude is merely gravy for most.

[SDS]

2 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Interestingly, Eichel was playing well, all things considered, until Stone came back.  After that, neither could do squat.  Causation, merely correlation?  Did he suffer yet another non-neck related injury?  Did the neck act up? 

No data & no idea.  But the odds are very high that the Sabres will have the 15th or more likely 16th pick overall this summer.  That's what really matters.  The rest of the schadenfreude is merely gravy for most.

I saw one passing mention that Jack tried to glove down a shot and injured his hand.