Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Eichel lets loose: Sabres captain ‘fed up’ with losing
BUFFALO, N.Y. » Sabres captain Jack Eichel kept his frustrations in check for the first 14 minutes of an end-of-season interview session with Buffalo-area reporters Thursday.
It wasn’t until he was asked to assess the future of a team that’s not made the playoffs during his five-year tenure, when Eichel let loose.
“Listen, I’m fed up with losing, and I’m fed up and I’m frustrated,” he said during a 27-minute Zoom call in which he was only able to dial in by phone. “It’s definitely not an easy pill to swallow right now. It’s been a tough couple of months. It’s been a tough five years with where things have went.”
Where they’ve gone is essentially nowhere for the 23-year-old Eichel, who was celebrated as the franchise’s key building block after being selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft. He is also the franchise’s top-paid player in completing the second season of an eight-year, $80 million contract.
Though Eichel made great strides playing to his potential in leading the Sabres both on and off the ice this season, he was let down by a floundering franchise which extended the NHL’s longest active playoff drought to a ninth consecutive year.
Eichel made sure to credit the signs of progress the team showed under first-year coach Ralph Krueger, Buffalo’s third in five seasons.
What ate at him was how Buffalo couldn’t even qualify for the NHL’s expanded 24-team playoff format caused by the pandemic, and after vowing in February that the “wheels wouldn’t fall off,” as had happened in previous years.
“(Teams) are gaining valuable, valuable experience as a group. And we’re not one of them,” he said. “So, it does add to the frustration.”
It doesn’t help Eichel knowing one more win before the season was paused in March would’ve made the difference. Buffalo finished 13th in Eastern Conference with a .493 points percentage, and was edged out by Montreal (.500) for the final spot.
Frustrations aside, Eichel enjoyed a breakout season that at one point had him in the MVP conversation. He led the team and finished eighth in the NHL with a career-best 36 goals, including nine game-winners, and 78 points in 68 games.