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The NEXT GREAT SABRES BLOGGER Contestant #1: Hank |
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Ek's Note: I am getting some really great quality pieces here and if you want to submit your own piece I am keeping this open for the next day or so. If you sent in an article over the weekend please resubmit because my gmail account actually topped out with space and it may have not gotten to me. I have added space and we should be good...Send your submissions to EKLUND (AT) Hockeybuzz.com and put "Sabres Writer" in the subject. We are looking for unique voices and perspectives...oh...and people who know the difference between Gerard Gallant and Gary Galley is a huge...:)
Sabres fans are tough but fair. We want this writer to meet your expectations. Let us know in the comments what your thoughts are, but please do so in a respectful way, with the understanding it's nerve-wracking putting yourself out there...people who abuse our contestants will be banned instantly. I have visited Buffalo often..I always found you folks as welcoming as they come.
Contestant #1: Hank.
"The Foundation – Part 1"
The foundation of the Sabres organization is in ruin. The leadership from top-down is a mess. While this series will explore the parts of the foundation that need to be repaired or replaced, I want to start with the piece that should still be the the most important to the organization. Some will agree with me and some will not, but it’s perhaps the most important topic in Sabreland in a decade.
June 26, 2015. Eight years removed from the most disastrous free agency in Sabres history, the Sabres were finally ready to turn the corner. After years of searching the wilderness for the elusive #1 center, the Sabres drafted Jack Eichel at #2 overall. He would be supported down the middle with the newly acquired Ryan O’Reilly – the second coming of Michael Peca. They also had a respected captain who knew what it takes to win – Brian Gionta.
They had their scoring wingers – Sam Reinhart, drafted the previous year, and Evander Kane acquired from Winnipeg. They had their franchise goalie in Robin Lehner. They had their future #1 defenseman in Rasmus Ristolainen. Sure, he’d been a little uneven to that point, but that could easily be attributed to sub-par coaching from Ted Nolan. Now Stanley Cup championship coach Dan Bylsma was at the helm. The Sabres were back.
It didn’t happen. There are a multitude of reasons, many of which are known well to the Sabres faithful. No need to rehash the events individually.
The Sabres are largely in the same (or perhaps worse) place they were six years ago. However, it’s true today just like it was true that day: Jack Eichel is a #1 center. And that’s where we begin to build our foundation because in terms of rock-solid, bona-fide, #1 centers on which to build, you can’t do much better than Jack Eichel. Despite squandering 5.5 years of his career on terrible teams, he’s unquestionably the best player the Sabres have had since Hasek tended net 20 years ago. When healthy, he can do it all – passing, shooting, powerplay, penalty kill.
His points per game steadily increased year-over-year, beginning from a somewhat underwhelming rookie campaign where he “only” amassed 56 points in 81 games. I say “only” because he was billed as one half of the generational duo with “McEichel.” Without devolving into a pointless discussion about that label, suffice to say, a 56-point season for a second overall pick in his draft year is at least decent. For context, Jack Hughes, the 2019 first overall pick, finished his rookie campaign with 21 points.
This is not to pick on Hughes, it’s just to point out how difficult the transition can be. Eichel’s points-per-game would steadily climb through the next few dismal, forgettable years. Coaches and players have come and gone. GMs too. During that time, he honed his two-way game and made gains in other facets of the game as well. Oh, and he became captain. His story and accomplishments – and non accomplishments - are well documented. He hasn’t appeared in a playoff game.
Then Covid-19 hit. The Sabres missed the 24-team playoffs by 1 point. Months passed.
In January 2021, following a long layoff from Covid-19, Eichel hasn’t been right. A multitude of injuries and sub-par coaching made for an underwhelming 2 goals and 16 points in 21 games. At times, he looked disinterested. Whether that’s a result of the injuries or the repeated losing is a heated topic among fans, as it should be. The undeniable fact is though, when Jack Eichel is right (and he is not right now), he is a top-10 center in this league. Maybe a top-10 player.
Patience is in very short supply with the fan base. Some say if you go into Key Bank Center on a mid-April evening when the Sabres aren’t hosting a playoff game, you’ll see the spectral, ghostly figure of Darcy Regier as he wails “sssssssuffering” over and over in the darkness. Yes, I know he’s very much alive, but go with it. I get it. Fans are mad and sad or just dead inside. And that’s fine – I’m certainly not going to tell anyone how they should experience fandom. What I will say is that when you have a player of Jack Eichel’s caliber, you’ve always got a shot. Moves need to be made (Krueger has go to go!) and players need to be shuffled around, but Jack Eichel is the piece that teams try for years to get. In his 2020 season-ending press conference for the Minnesota Wild, Bill Guerin had this to say about that struggle: “Teams don’t trade No. 1 centers. They just don’t. Usually, it’s got to be done in the free-agent market or through the draft. It’s a position that I think this organization has needed for quite some time. We are going to try to address it.”
That probably sounds very familiar to Sabres fans who lived through the post 2007 Sabres (with all due respect to Darcy’s “two top-20 centers” and Mr. Steve Ott). So while the Sabres may be spinning their wheels elsewhere, they do have Jack Eichel, and no, they shouldn’t trade him. After six years, Jack Eichel is still a reason for hope.
It’s where you start to build the foundation.
Again.
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