Did Eichel need to fly the coop to let Dahlin spread his wings

[inkman]

Discuss 

[French Collection]

I think his presence on the ice and in the room was growing but was accelerated by the trade.

Maybe Jack holding court kept Dahlin in his shell.

Good question.

[Marvin]

IMHO, XHCRK's departure was more instrumental.  But getting to go to the All-Star game probably does not happen if Eichel is still here.  I think that radically accelerated the process.

[triumph_communes]

It was all coaching 

[Doohickie]

Nothing to do with Eichel and everything to do with Meatballs.

21 minutes ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

IMHO, XHCRK's departure was more instrumental.  But getting to go to the All-Star game probably does not happen if Eichel is still here.  I think that radically accelerated the process.

[PromoTheRobot]

Just now, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Nothing to do with Eichel and everything to do with Meatballs.

They still had to change the room.

[Marvin]

2 minutes ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Nothing to do with Eichel and everything to do with Meatballs.

Just stating that it looks like Dahlin now genuinely believes he can be one of the best D in the league.  After the ASG, he has been playing with confidence that I had not seen before the ASG.  And I think if Eichel were still here, Dahlin does not get invited, whence we don't see this kind of improvement.

[LGR4GM]

krueger was a bigger factor but i do think eichel contributed

[SwampD]

1 minute ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

Just stating that it looks like Dahlin now genuinely believes he can be one of the best D in the league.  After the ASG, he has been playing with confidence that I had not seen before the ASG.  And I think if Eichel were still here, Dahlin does not get invited, whence we don't see this kind of improvement.

I think you are right on.

[mjd1001]

I don't think so.

Maybe, MAYBE him not being here let Dahlin step into more of a leadership role.  Not even sure that is true but its possible.

More so, I just think most D-men need time to develop and adjust.  A few years usually. Dahlin is just on the same development curve he would have pretty much been on had Eichel been here or not.

[Norcal]

I think Eichel stifled everyone.

When Jack was on the ice the other players always deferred to him, passed him the puck and waited for him to make a play. 

Great player, can't do it all but damned if he didn't try. 

Now, the team doesn't rely on one player to make the offense work and Dahlin picks his spots and is more creative than ever with the puck on his stick.

 

[skaught]

I don't think it makes any difference in regards to Dahlin. I think the real question is whether or not Tage's success is related to Eichel's departure.

[Carmel Corn]

15 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

They still had to change the room.

Agree....I think the departure of perhaps multiple players needed to happen for new leaders to emerge.  I don't know if even Risto's presence could have been a factor as well.  The new "room" with guys like Tuch and Okie may brought a different vibe encouraging more teamwork and accountability. 

Edited March 29, 2022 by Carmel Corn

[Doohickie]

2 minutes ago, skaught said:

I don't think it makes any difference in regards to Dahlin. I think the real question is whether or not Tage's success is related to Eichel's departure.

If we were "set" at center, Tage doesn't even get moved I think.  But with past injuries to Girgs, Mitts and the ongoing Eichel situation I think Granato looked at his roster to see who was prime for conversion to center.

[PromoTheRobot]

3 minutes ago, Carmel Corn said:

Agree....I think the departure of perhaps multiple players needed to happen for new leaders to emerge.  I don't know if even Risto's presence could have been a factor as well.  The new "room" with guys like Tuch and Okie may brought a different vibe encouraging more teamwork and accountability. 

Players like Okposo and Dahlin were here for years but didn't emerge until certain players left and new coaching came aboard. How much is one or the other?

[Doohickie]

I think Okposo's trajectory was more about Okposo and his health struggles than anything else in the room.  You remember his problems with concussions and reaction to medication that landed him in the Neuro ICU, right?  He basically had to work his way back to game shape and reinvent and even redevelop his game since that 2017 incident.  The upward arc since then has little to do with Eich.

[Norcal]

Just now, The Ghost of Yuri said:

I think Okposo's trajectory was more about Okposo and his health struggles than anything else in the room.  You remember his problems with concussions and reaction to medication that landed him in the Neuro ICU, right?  He basically had to work his way back to game shape and reinvent and even redevelop his game since that 2017 incident.  The upward arc since then has little to do with Eich.

I was thinking about this the other day.

How long it took Okposo to get back to this level of play and how almost nobody, myself included, thought it would ever happen. 

He worked his tail off and his love for the game has shone through. 

[Doohickie]

I remember discussing how to get rid of his contract and I remember saying that he might never be worth the money but that ultimately he would be a good player for this team.  (I've tried to find the comment but without success.)

[WildCard]

I don't think this team is as close/resilient if Eichel is here, no. And with that I don't think the confidence and growth you see in Dahlin exists either. Eichel is a phenomenal player but the stench of losing and turmoil in Buffalo for so long was stapled to him and the only way to shed it was move him.

[pi2000]

no

[msw2112]

I have always wondered how Eichel would have done playing for extended time under Granato.  It may have been the best coach he'd have had in the NHL to that point in his career and the up tempo style may have really meshed well with his game.  We'll never know, but I am happy with the current state of affairs.

I'm sure multiple factors have gone into Dahlin's development.  Eichel's departure changed the chemistry of the team and that may have helped, and as others have stated above, the All-Star Game appearance seemed to springboard Dahlin's confidence and development and he may have missed the opportunity if Eichel was still on the team and "took" the team's All-Star slot.

[Weave]

I don’t think it is coincidence that the Dahlin stick breaking and dwelling on his mistakes ended when Eichel’s reign ended.

 

[K-9]

Interesting question. 

As a player, I think Dahlin would have made the same strides, regardless. 

As a leader, I think he and others on the team would have been stunted had Eichel remained.

[pi2000]

4 minutes ago, Weave said:

I don’t think it is coincidence that the Dahlin stick breaking and dwelling on his mistakes ended when Krueger's reign ended.

 

fixed... 😘

[thewookie1]

I 100% agree with the whole All-Star point with Dahlin getting to go thanks to Eichel's departure.

As for Dahlin getting better due to Eichel leaving is much less easy to parse through. 

1. Dahlin always had high-end talent and a physical edge to his game based on his time in Sweden

2. Dahlin was likely going to eventually become a solid dman regardless due to that

3. Eichel's departure and Dahlin's subsequent All-Star appearance seems to have given him the kick in the butt he needed to get out of the rut he had found him self in with Krueger. Granato also plays a huge role in this.

 

If anything I think Eichel's departure did far more for the locker room and its dynamics. I definitely get the sense that due to Eichel's captaincy and Krueger's preferential game plan to Eichel created a strange atmosphere for players of all ages to deal with. Additionally once Bogo was waived I think we started to see cracks form. Bogo may have felt "safe" due to his friendship with Eichel and as such Eichel likely felt he held that power. 

The more curious relationship was Eichel and Okposo. What was their dynamic as a young captain and an often tragically injured vet who always gave his all regardless and was a solid Top 6 player prior to Buffalo? I know for a fact, Okposo is the team "Dad" along with Anderson. For instance, Okposo handled the Bills tickets for most of the young players when they all went to the game this past September or October. He had them on his phone and waved them in as it was scanned. (I worked at that gate) We know that Eichel ran with the "wrong crowd" (Bogo, Kane, etc.) and wrapped Reinhart into it as well in not "respecting" Gionta and Gorges' leadership group.  Okposo was the de-facto leader prior to Tuch joining us in November; so knowing that most of the newer young core are good friends but also seem very willing to follow their elders you get a far better atmosphere overall. 

As they say, a team will typically reflect their leadership group. This team plays like Okposo when at their best; tenacious, never quits, physical, and takes no #### from other teams. Tuch is a less physical but far better skater than Okposo but plays in a similar manner. 

All of this rambling brings me back to Dahlin; he's now a young leader under the tutelage of a seasoned veteran in Okposo and an experienced playoff performer in Tuch. His friends on the team, like him, respect the experience and help push each other to do their best to absorb anything they can learn. Combine that with Granato's coaching style that heavily looks to expose their younger players to as much experience as possible and you get a team that is growing and players whom embraced their roles and have ran with them. No longer is this Eichel's team with 21 other dudes; this is now Dahlin, Thompson, Mitts, Cozens, Tuch, etc's team. They all feel valued and involved in pushing us forward; no longer are you just hoping to end your shift so Eichel can save the day. Instead it is up to all of them to support everyone else. Dahlin is a big cog, but still a cog; he knows and wants to help his teammates because he knows they'll do the same. Even if his 100% is far better than anyone else on the team; that doesn't matter. What matters is that all of them give their 100%. Dahlin now believes he can give 100% and not only help the team but carry it in ways so that others are freer to contribute in their own ways.