Sabres star ‘fed up with the losing’
Jack Eichel has already gone back and looked over the schedule, looked over all the missed opportunities and missed points.
One more win and the Buffalo Sabres would have been in.
That’s it. One win.
Had they beaten Tampa Bay or Boston even just once in seven meetings. Had they not blown a two-goal lead to Colorado on Feb. 26, which sparked a six-game losing streak right before the NHL cancelled the season. Heck, had the league decided to close its doors one day later, allowing Buffalo and Montreal to play on March 12, then who knows?
Maybe it would have been the Sabres — not the Canadiens, who had one more point in the Eastern Conference standings — sneaking into the playoffs as the 24th-seeded team.
Instead, for a fifth-straight year, Eichel is not going to the dance. And all because of a couple of measly points.
“After every season, there’s probably a handful of games where you say to yourself, ‘Probably should have won them, probably should have gotten the point, probably could have gotten two points,’ whatever it might be,” Eichel said. “You know in a situation like this where you see a lot of the teams that are going to continue to play, they probably felt like they were completely out of it and now they have an opportunity to play more games and they’re gaining valuable experience as a group.
“And we’re not one of them. So it does add to the frustration. It adds to the frustration a lot.”
This expanded post-season format is new. But for Eichel, this feeling of being on the outside looking in is getting old. He’s never been in the playoffs. He’s never even been close.
The Sabres finished 23rd in Eichel’s rookie year. They were 26th in 2016-17, then last overall in 2017-18, and 27th in 2018-19. This season, they were 25th. At the same time, this was Eichel’s best year in the NHL. With 36 goals and 78 points in 68 games, he should have been considered a Hart Trophy candidate. The only thing standing in his way of being recognized was that, unlike the nine players ahead of him in the scoring race, he was the only one not going to the playoffs.
How long before Eichel, who has played for three head coaches and is on his second general manager, says “enough is enough. I’ve done all I can do” and demands a trade?
By the sound of it, he’s getting there.
“Listen, I’m fed up with the losing and I’m fed up and I’m frustrated,” he said. “It’s definitely not an easy pill to swallow right now. It’s been a tough couple of months, been a tough five years where things have went.
“I’m a competitor. I want to win every time I’m on the ice. I want to win a Stanley Cup every time I start a season. I’m already preparing for next season now. I’m already on the ice. I’m already training. I’m already doing the things to try and better myself for starting next season, whenever that is. I’d be lying if I said I’m not getting frustrated with where things are going.”