NHL Playoffs 2022-2023 Season

[Prospector]

4 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

I will be pulling for Dallas to represent the west in the cup finals which is conflicting.  I can't stomach the idea of either expansion team hoisting the cup.  And in the east, go Panthers I guess.  🤮

Well suck some farts

[Fleezoid]

1 minute ago, Jauronimo said:

I will be pulling for Dallas to represent the west in the cup finals which is conflicting.  I can't stomach the idea of either expansion team hoisting the cup.  And in the east, go Panthers I guess.  🤮

 

For me, there's no team in the west I want to lose more than Dallas. They just have to be out. With the Sabres not making the playoffs for so long, my NHL playoff thing is to watch the Bruins, Stars and to a lesser extent, the Rangers, get bumped out. I'm fairly indifferent about the rest of the teams. So I'm down to 1. 

[Jrb1979]

For me I have interest in any of the teams left. No star power to draw me in and have no emotional attachment good or bad to any of the teams. 

[Jauronimo]

4 minutes ago, Fleezoid said:

 

For me, there's no team in the west I want to lose more than Dallas. They just have to be out. With the Sabres not making the playoffs for so long, my NHL playoff thing is to watch the Bruins, Stars and to a lesser extent, the Rangers, get bumped out. I'm fairly indifferent about the rest of the teams. So I'm down to 1. 

I want Dallas to lose in the finals in this scenario.  I am not in the mood to watch Vegas or Seattle compete for a cup after their collective 3 seasons of not playing in the post season.

[Gregg]

Once my Isles were eliminated then I wanted the Rangers and Leafs out. Since they are also gone, I really don't care who wins the Cup from the teams still playing.

[Prospector]

2 hours ago, Prospector said:

For the VGK, we only have 5 players from our original Stanley Cup Final team that all the experts said was a bottom 5 team before the season... we made multiple coaching, GM and players changes since then. Heck, what are we on, our 11th Goalie by now since Fleury [A. Hill (who is our 3rd, maybe 4th, back up for the season?!)]. After our missed playoffs last year, our team still sold out all season tickets. You can't go into any store/business/meeting area and not see Golden knights gear all year round. Vegas is a VGK town, like Buffalo is a Bills Town... and we say go Knights in other cities just like we say Go Bills in other cities. And it is kinda cool that 3 of our 5 remaining expansion players scored every goal last game. I just wished Carrier and Eichel would have made a goal, so my Bills fandom could puff its chest.

I’m thinking these barf emojis are from Sabres terrible management and whatever. Don’t hate the player, hate the game… we should have slid into obscurity after we lost our core players. But we lasted longer than the Kings, Sharks, and Avalanche… we adjusted our roster and management as needed… and made Eichel relevant 

[Jrb1979]

43 minutes ago, Prospector said:

I’m thinking these barf emojis are from Sabres terrible management and whatever. Don’t hate the player, hate the game… we should have slid into obscurity after we lost our core players. But we lasted longer than the Kings, Sharks, and Avalanche… we adjusted our roster and management as needed… and made Eichel relevant 

It's none of those for me. My dislike for Vegas is a bi-product of everything that's wrong with the NHL as a whole. It starts with series/game management. IMO Pietrangelo shouldn't be playing til next year for one. 

 

Two calling the game different in the regular season and playoffs makes the league look bad. Teams high skill and speed should be favored and the game should be called to favor that. Instead the game is called so 3rd and 4th liners are on equal footing as star players. 

[Prospector]

41 minutes ago, Jrb1979 said:

It's none of those for me. My dislike for Vegas is a bi-product of everything that's wrong with the NHL as a whole. It starts with series/game management. IMO Pietrangelo shouldn't be playing til next year for one. 

 

Two calling the game different in the regular season and playoffs makes the league look bad. Teams high skill and speed should be favored and the game should be called to favor that. Instead the game is called so 3rd and 4th liners are on equal footing as star players. 

I agree, and the NHL hates the VGK… that’s why the least penalized team in the regular season became one of the most penalized when the playoffs started… that’s the VGK. If the refs were consistent, then we probably would have been waiting on Dallas and Seattle a couple days ago. 
 

on your second half… you only care about star players?! I don’t know what you mean, Vegas is deep with a lot of skill and team work on every line… is that what you hate?

[Prospector]

What’s your beef with Peet? Did you see the game?! All the crap he dealt with? Probably not… in fact I can guarantee you did not… you just may be a hoser

Edited May 15, 2023 by Prospector

[Jrb1979]

15 minutes ago, Prospector said:

I agree, and the NHL hates the VGK… that’s why the least penalized team in the regular season became one of the most penalized when the playoffs started… that’s the VGK. If the refs were consistent, then we probably would have been waiting on Dallas and Seattle a couple days ago. 
 

on your second half… you only care about star players?! I don’t know what you mean, Vegas is deep with a lot of skill and team work on every line… is that what you hate?

Star players as in McDavid, Draisaitl, MacKinnon, those are star players.  If they were consistent then the Oilers probably move on as that powerplay probably wins them the series. 

 

12 minutes ago, Prospector said:

What’s your beef with Peet? Did you see the game?! All the crap he dealt with? Probably not… in fact I can guarantee you did not… you just may be a hoser

I agree he dealt with a lot but what he did has no business in the game. It's not that I hate the guy cause I do think he's a good player and he did play for my local junior team. 

[Prospector]

2 minutes ago, Jrb1979 said:

Star players as in McDavid, Draisaitl, MacKinnon, those are star players.  If they were consistent then the Oilers probably move on as that powerplay probably wins them the series. 

 

I agree he dealt with a lot but what he did has no business in the game. It's not that I hate the guy cause I do think he's a good player and he did play for my local junior team. 

So star players are what matter… that’s ridiculous. Defense and team work should be eliminated from playoffs?!?! Even power play kills? That whole premise is wonky dook

[Jrb1979]

1 minute ago, Prospector said:

So star players are what matter… that’s ridiculous. Defense and team work should be eliminated from playoffs?!?! Even power play kills? That whole premise is wonky dook

Not totally but I think they need to go back to calling everything like they did back in 2006. That's when the game was at its best. The fast and high skilled teams excelled. I hate how the game is played now. It's slowly heading back to clutch and grab. I want to the stars shine not guys like Kolesar. 

[Jrb1979]

Don't get me wrong, I like that your team is doing well for you. As a Canadian and some who loves hockey over any other sport, hates seeing what they have done to the game. It's all to get that all mighty US dollar. I'm sorry but it's been a failure. Ratings are still not any better. 

[Prospector]

1 hour ago, Jrb1979 said:

Not totally but I think they need to go back to calling everything like they did back in 2006. That's when the game was at its best. The fast and high skilled teams excelled. I hate how the game is played now. It's slowly heading back to clutch and grab. I want to the stars shine not guys like Kolesar. 

I agree with this, but if you watched the series, it was the Oilers who were doing the majority of the clutch and grab BS, trying to get Vegas to get off their game and react… which they succeeded in doing. If they wanted a track meet, Vegas would have crushed them with 5 lines of better skill and speed

[Prospector]

this was copied and pasted… Eichel out starred the star. So maybe the star shown this series
 

Eichel was a monster in the defensive zone, and — here’s a point that shouldn’t be overlooked — Eichel more than doubled McDavid’s 5v5 point total.

McDavid was limited to just three points (1-2-3) at even strength. Eichel had seven (2-5-7).

Eichel’s work in the defensive zone was everything new and improved about the center. Gone are questions about his dedication or maturity. The 26-year-old in his first playoff run is showing the hockey world his true potential.

[Draconator]

I have to decide what I hate more. Eichel or no goal

[BillsPride12]

3 minutes ago, Draconator said:

I have to decide what I hate more. Eichel or no goal

The only team that I can even remotely consider rooting for at this point is Florida 

[Prospector]

33 minutes ago, BillsPride12 said:

The only team that I can even remotely consider rooting for at this point is Florida 

Yes! If Carolina gets knocked out, then it’s all teams who have have no state income tax!!! Great for recruiting free agents

42 minutes ago, Draconator said:

I have to decide what I hate more. Eichel or no goal

Imagine him holding the trophy

Maybe it was the team/organization and not him

[Draconator]

6 minutes ago, Prospector said:

Maybe it was the team/organization and not him

Get bent. Eichel is cancer. The dark cloud over the Sabres lifted the day he was traded.

[Prospector]

13 minutes ago, Draconator said:

Get bent. Eichel is cancer. The dark cloud over the Sabres lifted the day he was traded.

Lifted the cloud and out of the playoffs again… while he was one of the main reasons we were top in the west and now in the finals… I get sour grapes, but he may just have been in a terrible organization 

[Draconator]

2 minutes ago, Prospector said:

Lifted the cloud and out of the playoffs again… while he was one of the main reasons we were top in the west and now in the finals… I get sour grapes, but he may just have been in a terrible organization 

The Sabres were very bad for a while, but now they're on the same upward trajectory as the Bills. They finished one point behind Florida for the playoffs. They're interested in Connor Hellybruck from Winnipeg. Combine him, Levi, and the elite offense the Sabres currently have, and we will be Cup contenders. 

 

The Knights won't get out of the West. No matter how good Eichel is. Dallas is a very strong, resilient team. More than Vegas. 

[Fleezoid]

13 hours ago, Jrb1979 said:

Not totally but I think they need to go back to calling everything like they did back in 2006. That's when the game was at its best. The fast and high skilled teams excelled. I hate how the game is played now. It's slowly heading back to clutch and grab. I want to the stars shine not guys like Kolesar. 

 

Yep. 2006 was right after the Lockout year. To get the fans back, the league implemented the strict penalty era. Everything was called. I think they put the shootout in that year as well. Teams that were built with skill and speed excelled. when the playoffs started, the penalties dropped, but it was still tightly officiated. Within 2-3 years, however, the slippery-slope affect kicked in and penalties started dropping. The playoffs started turning into what we have now. Or old school hockey like 3-4 decades ago. The clutching and grabbing is rarely called.

 

I've been saying for some time now...you shouldn't build teams for the regular season. You have to build for the playoffs with a good amount of size and toughness, particularly on defense. The playoffs are when the skill players start disappearing to some degree. I think the Florida Panthers are a prime example. 

[Jrb1979]

25 minutes ago, Fleezoid said:

 

Yep. 2006 was right after the Lockout year. To get the fans back, the league implemented the strict penalty era. Everything was called. I think they put the shootout in that year as well. Teams that were built with skill and speed excelled. when the playoffs started, the penalties dropped, but it was still tightly officiated. Within 2-3 years, however, the slippery-slope affect kicked in and penalties started dropping. The playoffs started turning into what we have now. Or old school hockey like 3-4 decades ago. The clutching and grabbing is rarely called.

 

I've been saying for some time now...you shouldn't build teams for the regular season. You have to build for the playoffs with a good amount of size and toughness, particularly on defense. The playoffs are when the skill players start disappearing to some degree. I think the Florida Panthers are a prime example. 

I agree with that. As a fan it's not what I want to see. I want to see the skilled players dominate. I don't want to see 3rd and 4th line guys lead the way. 

[BillsFan4]

On 5/15/2023 at 4:07 PM, Prospector said:

I’m thinking these barf emojis are from Sabres terrible management and whatever. Don’t hate the player, hate the game… we should have slid into obscurity after we lost our core players. But we lasted longer than the Kings, Sharks, and Avalanche… we adjusted our roster and management as needed… and made Eichel relevant 

I didn’t leave a puke emoji but I’m guessing it’s because of Eichel. At least for me it’s Eichel. Vegas does seem like a cool hockey market and I like the production value they put into games.

 

But Eichel burned a lot of bridges in Buffalo. He asked for a trade the 2nd year after signing a max term huge money deal. That was the season before his injury, so that surgery had nothing to do with it. Eichel himself said he asked for a trade the season before the injury (on the spittin’ chicklets podcast).

 

Then after he was traded, he goes right to Twitter and tweets “Vegas Baby! Vegas!”. No thank you to fans or anything. He did thank the fans later after facing backlash for his initial tweet but it came off as hollow by that point.

 

The Sabres were a mess. I get that. But he knew that when he signed his max term deal.

At the time of Eichel ‘s deal he said he only wanted a max term deal. That’s the only term they even negotiated. If you’re unsure about Buffalo, sign a bridge deal like Reinhart did. I could understand and respect that.

 

Notice how no Buffalo fans are rooting against Reinhart? In fact, just the opposite. Even the way Ryan O’Reilly left many Buffalo fans still rooted for him. Same with Ullmark and Montour and many other ex-Sabres. I can’t think of another ex-Sabre besides Eichel that fans so universally dislike or boo.

 

I’m sure it doesn’t help that Eichel was basically a douche the entire time he was here. There are all sorts of stories about what an arrogant, entitled a-hole he was. Snubbing autographs/fans/kids. Berating trainers and equipment staff for no reason. Throwing temper tantrums. Being unwilling to accept coaching. Getting a coach fired because he didn’t like him (said he wouldn’t sign an extension unless he was fired). Openly Disrespecting the captain and assistant captain here his first couple/few seasons. Gionta and Gorges have told some stories about their time here and how Eichel treated people on different podcasts. Another player (can’t remember his name right now) said on a podcast that Eichel was the worst captain/leader he’s ever been around.

 

There’s one story (of many) Craig Rivet tells where they had this group of special need kids visiting and they were supposed to have a meet & greet with Eichel. Bu when he walked out and saw they were there he immediately turned right back around and walked away. Didn’t even greet them. A bunch of other players did.

I’m honestly not bitter though. I actually think it was a win-win trade and if given the chance wouldn’t trade the pieces back that we got for Eichel. It’s just hard to root for him. We put up with his BS while he was a Sabre and even tried to defend his behavior. But now that he’s gone it’s easy to root against him.

 

 

Eichel seems to be turning it on lately, and his defensive game has really grown in Vegas. I think he was a player Vegas needed too. They have a legit #1C now and he’s having himself a nice playoffs.

 

And Buffalo got some nice pieces from that trade. Tuch alone is huge. He out-scored eichel and actually wants to be here. He’s from the area and has been a huge part of the culture change in Buffalo.

Plus Krebs is developing nicely, Ostlund is looking great overseas and we still have whatever the 2nd turns into this year (not expecting much). I also think Buffalo is better off, culture wise, without Eichel. I think he needed to be on a good veteran team like Vegas. He’s a better fit there and walked into an established culture instead of having to be the one to set the culture. There’s no denying the Sabres culture improved the second Eichel was traded. It’s easy for even casual fans to see.

 

On 5/15/2023 at 11:48 PM, Prospector said:

Lifted the cloud and out of the playoffs again… while he was one of the main reasons we were top in the west and now in the finals… I get sour grapes, but he may just have been in a terrible organization 

Eichel only had 66 points this season. He had seasons in Buffalo with 82 and 77 points. In Vegas he has yet to look like the super star that we saw in Buffalo those 2 seasons.

 

Tuch also had his best ever season this year in Buffalo and out-scored Eichel. So was that the fault of Vegas? (no)

 

Tuch had more goals, assists and points than Eichel. In fact, both of Buffalo’s top 6 centers had more points than Eichel this season. We had 5 players - both our top 6 C’s, 2 top 6 W’s and a defenseman - with more points than Eichel. Our 3rd line C had almost as many points as Eichel.

 

His season was nothing to brag about by any means. Vegas just has a better overall team. Buffalo is only a couple seasons into another tear down rebuild (after Eichel + Reinhart + Ullmark, etc left). With even league average goaltending they would’ve been a playoff team this year.

Edited May 18, 2023 by BillsFan4

[SinceThe70s]

On 5/18/2023 at 11:44 AM, BillsFan4 said:

I didn’t leave a puke emoji but I’m guessing it’s because of Eichel. At least for me it’s Eichel. Vegas does seem like a cool hockey market and I like the production value they put into games.

 

 

JMO, but the pre-game stuff I've seen from Vegas is embarrassingly bad, feels like WWF. 

[BillsPride12]

8 hours ago, SinceThe70s said:

 

JMO, but the pre-game stuff I've seen from Vegas is embarrassingly bad, feels like WWF. 

I don't need to see anything like that in Buffalo but I do like it when sports teams try to market themselves according to their region, and I think the Vegas pregame stuff is supposed to feel like a "Vegas show" so I don't mind the theatrics in their case but I don't need to or want to see any other teams trying to replicate that either.  

[4merper4mer]

On 5/18/2023 at 11:44 AM, BillsFan4 said:

I didn’t leave a puke emoji but I’m guessing it’s because of Eichel. At least for me it’s Eichel. Vegas does seem like a cool hockey market and I like the production value they put into games.

 

But Eichel burned a lot of bridges in Buffalo. He asked for a trade the 2nd year after signing a max term huge money deal. That was the season before his injury, so that surgery had nothing to do with it. Eichel himself said he asked for a trade the season before the injury (on the spittin’ chicklets podcast).

 

Then after he was traded, he goes right to Twitter and tweets “Vegas Baby! Vegas!”. No thank you to fans or anything. He did thank the fans later after facing backlash for his initial tweet but it came off as hollow by that point.

 

The Sabres were a mess. I get that. But he knew that when he signed his max term deal.

At the time of Eichel ‘s deal he said he only wanted a max term deal. That’s the only term they even negotiated. If you’re unsure about Buffalo, sign a bridge deal like Reinhart did. I could understand and respect that.

 

Notice how no Buffalo fans are rooting against Reinhart? In fact, just the opposite. Even the way Ryan O’Reilly left many Buffalo fans still rooted for him. Same with Ullmark and Montour and many other ex-Sabres. I can’t think of another ex-Sabre besides Eichel that fans so universally dislike or boo.

 

I’m sure it doesn’t help that Eichel was basically a douche the entire time he was here. There are all sorts of stories about what an arrogant, entitled a-hole he was. Snubbing autographs/fans/kids. Berating trainers and equipment staff for no reason. Throwing temper tantrums. Being unwilling to accept coaching. Getting a coach fired because he didn’t like him (said he wouldn’t sign an extension unless he was fired). Openly Disrespecting the captain and assistant captain here his first couple/few seasons. Gionta and Gorges have told some stories about their time here and how Eichel treated people on different podcasts. Another player (can’t remember his name right now) said on a podcast that Eichel was the worst captain/leader he’s ever been around.

 

There’s one story (of many) Craig Rivet tells where they had this group of special need kids visiting and they were supposed to have a meet & greet with Eichel. Bu when he walked out and saw they were there he immediately turned right back around and walked away. Didn’t even greet them. A bunch of other players did.

I’m honestly not bitter though. I actually think it was a win-win trade and if given the chance wouldn’t trade the pieces back that we got for Eichel. It’s just hard to root for him. We put up with his BS while he was a Sabre and even tried to defend his behavior. But now that he’s gone it’s easy to root against him.

 

 

Eichel seems to be turning it on lately, and his defensive game has really grown in Vegas. I think he was a player Vegas needed too. They have a legit #1C now and he’s having himself a nice playoffs.

 

And Buffalo got some nice pieces from that trade. Tuch alone is huge. He out-scored eichel and actually wants to be here. He’s from the area and has been a huge part of the culture change in Buffalo.

Plus Krebs is developing nicely, Ostlund is looking great overseas and we still have whatever the 2nd turns into this year (not expecting much). I also think Buffalo is better off, culture wise, without Eichel. I think he needed to be on a good veteran team like Vegas. He’s a better fit there and walked into an established culture instead of having to be the one to set the culture. There’s no denying the Sabres culture improved the second Eichel was traded. It’s easy for even casual fans to see.

 

Eichel only had 66 points this season. He had seasons in Buffalo with 82 and 77 points. In Vegas he has yet to look like the super star that we saw in Buffalo those 2 seasons.

 

Tuch also had his best ever season this year in Buffalo and out-scored Eichel. So was that the fault of Vegas? (no)

 

Tuch had more goals, assists and points than Eichel. In fact, both of Buffalo’s top 6 centers had more points than Eichel this season. We had 5 players - both our top 6 C’s, 2 top 6 W’s and a defenseman - with more points than Eichel. Our 3rd line C had almost as many points as Eichel.

 

His season was nothing to brag about by any means. Vegas just has a better overall team. Buffalo is only a couple seasons into another tear down rebuild (after Eichel + Reinhart + Ullmark, etc left). With even league average goaltending they would’ve been a playoff team this year.

All of what you wrote is spot on and you even left out some off ice escapades as well as the stunting of Dahlin’s development that seemed to be happening when Eichel was here.  Look at that kid now.  And the time he said the crowd was booing him because they want him back.

 

I think the best summary is that Eichole was born and raised a mass hole.  It will rear its head in Vegas at some point.

[muppy]

On 5/18/2023 at 8:44 AM, BillsFan4 said:

I didn’t leave a puke emoji but I’m guessing it’s because of Eichel. At least for me it’s Eichel. Vegas does seem like a cool hockey market and I like the production value they put into games.

 

But Eichel burned a lot of bridges in Buffalo. He asked for a trade the 2nd year after signing a max term huge money deal. That was the season before his injury, so that surgery had nothing to do with it. Eichel himself said he asked for a trade the season before the injury (on the spittin’ chicklets podcast).

 

Then after he was traded, he goes right to Twitter and tweets “Vegas Baby! Vegas!”. No thank you to fans or anything. He did thank the fans later after facing backlash for his initial tweet but it came off as hollow by that point.

 

The Sabres were a mess. I get that. But he knew that when he signed his max term deal.

At the time of Eichel ‘s deal he said he only wanted a max term deal. That’s the only term they even negotiated. If you’re unsure about Buffalo, sign a bridge deal like Reinhart did. I could understand and respect that.

 

Notice how no Buffalo fans are rooting against Reinhart? In fact, just the opposite. Even the way Ryan O’Reilly left many Buffalo fans still rooted for him. Same with Ullmark and Montour and many other ex-Sabres. I can’t think of another ex-Sabre besides Eichel that fans so universally dislike or boo.

 

I’m sure it doesn’t help that Eichel was basically a douche the entire time he was here. There are all sorts of stories about what an arrogant, entitled a-hole he was. Snubbing autographs/fans/kids. Berating trainers and equipment staff for no reason. Throwing temper tantrums. Being unwilling to accept coaching. Getting a coach fired because he didn’t like him (said he wouldn’t sign an extension unless he was fired). Openly Disrespecting the captain and assistant captain here his first couple/few seasons. Gionta and Gorges have told some stories about their time here and how Eichel treated people on different podcasts. Another player (can’t remember his name right now) said on a podcast that Eichel was the worst captain/leader he’s ever been around.

 

There’s one story (of many) Craig Rivet tells where they had this group of special need kids visiting and they were supposed to have a meet & greet with Eichel. Bu when he walked out and saw they were there he immediately turned right back around and walked away. Didn’t even greet them. A bunch of other players did.

I’m honestly not bitter though. I actually think it was a win-win trade and if given the chance wouldn’t trade the pieces back that we got for Eichel. It’s just hard to root for him. We put up with his BS while he was a Sabre and even tried to defend his behavior. But now that he’s gone it’s easy to root against him.

 

 

Eichel seems to be turning it on lately, and his defensive game has really grown in Vegas. I think he was a player Vegas needed too. They have a legit #1C now and he’s having himself a nice playoffs.

 

And Buffalo got some nice pieces from that trade. Tuch alone is huge. He out-scored eichel and actually wants to be here. He’s from the area and has been a huge part of the culture change in Buffalo.

Plus Krebs is developing nicely, Ostlund is looking great overseas and we still have whatever the 2nd turns into this year (not expecting much). I also think Buffalo is better off, culture wise, without Eichel. I think he needed to be on a good veteran team like Vegas. He’s a better fit there and walked into an established culture instead of having to be the one to set the culture. There’s no denying the Sabres culture improved the second Eichel was traded. It’s easy for even casual fans to see.

 

Eichel only had 66 points this season. He had seasons in Buffalo with 82 and 77 points. In Vegas he has yet to look like the super star that we saw in Buffalo those 2 seasons.

 

Tuch also had his best ever season this year in Buffalo and out-scored Eichel. So was that the fault of Vegas? (no)

 

Tuch had more goals, assists and points than Eichel. In fact, both of Buffalo’s top 6 centers had more points than Eichel this season. We had 5 players - both our top 6 C’s, 2 top 6 W’s and a defenseman - with more points than Eichel. Our 3rd line C had almost as many points as Eichel.

 

His season was nothing to brag about by any means. Vegas just has a better overall team. Buffalo is only a couple seasons into another tear down rebuild (after Eichel + Reinhart + Ullmark, etc left). With even league average goaltending they would’ve been a playoff team this year.

NOW I understand the Eichel dislike. What a shame. All of that reads to me like he was a team cancer. AND if he is truly a masshole on top of all of that Good Riddance.

 

as far as Las Vegas having a hockey team I just want to give them my vote for most cringey fuglee uniforms I've seen in a long time. I won' even elaborate further as to what they remind me of.   

 

I'll still root for the Canes I guess. I was more of a who did I NOT want to advance fan at this point NHL fan.

[Prospector]

So Eichel is like Stephon Gilmore who was pissed that he had to play on a sub-par team for a few years until he could go to a team that actually wanted to win it all, and had the pieces in place to do so. 
 

I hope the Sabres make changes like the Bills did, but right now, they seem like they are about two thirds into the Bills re-imaging process that took them 20 years and drafting Josh Allen. But now the Sabres are just good enough to not get the next Josh Allen. 
 

Eichel has been a beast for us this post season, and after his medical issues, he is only getting better. I hate losing Tuch and Kreb, but Eichel has been bringing it these games in the post season. The hate on Eichel is understandable, like the hate on Gilmore, but he wants to win now, and doesn’t want to wait on a perennial loser to try and figure things out to do so

[4merper4mer]

1 hour ago, Prospector said:

So Eichel is like Stephon Gilmore who was pissed that he had to play on a sub-par team for a few years until he could go to a team that actually wanted to win it all, and had the pieces in place to do so. 
 

I hope the Sabres make changes like the Bills did, but right now, they seem like they are about two thirds into the Bills re-imaging process that took them 20 years and drafting Josh Allen. But now the Sabres are just good enough to not get the next Josh Allen. 
 

Eichel has been a beast for us this post season, and after his medical issues, he is only getting better. I hate losing Tuch and Kreb, but Eichel has been bringing it these games in the post season. The hate on Eichel is understandable, like the hate on Gilmore, but he wants to win now, and doesn’t want to wait on a perennial loser to try and figure things out to do so

Spoiler alert:  We all know you’re trolling.

[Prospector]

On 5/15/2023 at 8:53 PM, Draconator said:

The Sabres were very bad for a while, but now they're on the same upward trajectory as the Bills. They finished one point behind Florida for the playoffs. They're interested in Connor Hellybruck from Winnipeg. Combine him, Levi, and the elite offense the Sabres currently have, and we will be Cup contenders. 

 

The Knights won't get out of the West. No matter how good Eichel is. Dallas is a very strong, resilient team. More than Vegas. 

Things may change, but it doesn't seem that Dallas is the more resilient team so far...

In these Playoffs, overtime record: Vegas is 3-0, Dallas is 0-4

On 5/20/2023 at 4:22 PM, 4merper4mer said:

Spoiler alert:  We all know you’re trolling.

Did you see Eichel with that sweet assist yesterday to tie the game in the final minutes?! 

[Prospector]

On 5/18/2023 at 8:44 AM, BillsFan4 said:

I didn’t leave a puke emoji but I’m guessing it’s because of Eichel. At least for me it’s Eichel. Vegas does seem like a cool hockey market and I like the production value they put into games.

 

But Eichel burned a lot of bridges in Buffalo. He asked for a trade the 2nd year after signing a max term huge money deal. That was the season before his injury, so that surgery had nothing to do with it. Eichel himself said he asked for a trade the season before the injury (on the spittin’ chicklets podcast).

 

Then after he was traded, he goes right to Twitter and tweets “Vegas Baby! Vegas!”. No thank you to fans or anything. He did thank the fans later after facing backlash for his initial tweet but it came off as hollow by that point.

 

The Sabres were a mess. I get that. But he knew that when he signed his max term deal.

At the time of Eichel ‘s deal he said he only wanted a max term deal. That’s the only term they even negotiated. If you’re unsure about Buffalo, sign a bridge deal like Reinhart did. I could understand and respect that.

 

Notice how no Buffalo fans are rooting against Reinhart? In fact, just the opposite. Even the way Ryan O’Reilly left many Buffalo fans still rooted for him. Same with Ullmark and Montour and many other ex-Sabres. I can’t think of another ex-Sabre besides Eichel that fans so universally dislike or boo.

 

I’m sure it doesn’t help that Eichel was basically a douche the entire time he was here. There are all sorts of stories about what an arrogant, entitled a-hole he was. Snubbing autographs/fans/kids. Berating trainers and equipment staff for no reason. Throwing temper tantrums. Being unwilling to accept coaching. Getting a coach fired because he didn’t like him (said he wouldn’t sign an extension unless he was fired). Openly Disrespecting the captain and assistant captain here his first couple/few seasons. Gionta and Gorges have told some stories about their time here and how Eichel treated people on different podcasts. Another player (can’t remember his name right now) said on a podcast that Eichel was the worst captain/leader he’s ever been around.

 

There’s one story (of many) Craig Rivet tells where they had this group of special need kids visiting and they were supposed to have a meet & greet with Eichel. Bu when he walked out and saw they were there he immediately turned right back around and walked away. Didn’t even greet them. A bunch of other players did.

I’m honestly not bitter though. I actually think it was a win-win trade and if given the chance wouldn’t trade the pieces back that we got for Eichel. It’s just hard to root for him. We put up with his BS while he was a Sabre and even tried to defend his behavior. But now that he’s gone it’s easy to root against him.

 

 

Eichel seems to be turning it on lately, and his defensive game has really grown in Vegas. I think he was a player Vegas needed too. They have a legit #1C now and he’s having himself a nice playoffs.

 

And Buffalo got some nice pieces from that trade. Tuch alone is huge. He out-scored eichel and actually wants to be here. He’s from the area and has been a huge part of the culture change in Buffalo.

Plus Krebs is developing nicely, Ostlund is looking great overseas and we still have whatever the 2nd turns into this year (not expecting much). I also think Buffalo is better off, culture wise, without Eichel. I think he needed to be on a good veteran team like Vegas. He’s a better fit there and walked into an established culture instead of having to be the one to set the culture. There’s no denying the Sabres culture improved the second Eichel was traded. It’s easy for even casual fans to see.

 

Eichel only had 66 points this season. He had seasons in Buffalo with 82 and 77 points. In Vegas he has yet to look like the super star that we saw in Buffalo those 2 seasons.

 

Tuch also had his best ever season this year in Buffalo and out-scored Eichel. So was that the fault of Vegas? (no)

 

Tuch had more goals, assists and points than Eichel. In fact, both of Buffalo’s top 6 centers had more points than Eichel this season. We had 5 players - both our top 6 C’s, 2 top 6 W’s and a defenseman - with more points than Eichel. Our 3rd line C had almost as many points as Eichel.

 

His season was nothing to brag about by any means. Vegas just has a better overall team. Buffalo is only a couple seasons into another tear down rebuild (after Eichel + Reinhart + Ullmark, etc left). With even league average goaltending they would’ve been a playoff team this year.

Eichel did have next (disk) surgery after he got traded to us... that may have factored a little into his slow start. But he does seem to be playing better and better

[BillsFan4]

54 minutes ago, Prospector said:

Eichel did have next (disk) surgery after he got traded to us... that may have factored a little into his slow start. But he does seem to be playing better and better

Yeah I’d guess that has definitely been a factor. He did seem to get better as the season went on and is really turning it on in the playoffs.

 

I still haven’t seen him reach his 2018/19 season and early 2019/20 season level of play yet though. 2018/19 was his true breakout year. That’s when he went from being talked about as a great young player to being talked about as a legit superstar and possibly the 2nd best player next to McDavid. 2018/19 was a pretty incredible season for him. He really just put the team on his back almost every night. Then he started out 2019/20 even better before tailing off as the season went on. (can’t remember, he may have had an injury mid season…)

 

I still think he has it in him to get to that level again. For a while I was starting to wonder if he just wouldn’t be the same after the neck injury but now I’m starting to see more of the old Eichel.

[Draconator]

1 hour ago, Prospector said:

Things may change, but it doesn't seem that Dallas is the more resilient team so far...

In these Playoffs, overtime record: Vegas is 3-0, Dallas is 0-4

 

I have no use for you. Blocked.

[Prospector]

1 hour ago, Draconator said:

I have no use for you. Blocked.

I guess that's one way to react when you have a bad take and someone mentions it. Understandable. Probably for the best... Go Knights!!!

[Prospector]

1 hour ago, BillsFan4 said:

Yeah I’d guess that has definitely been a factor. He did seem to get better as the season went on and is really turning it on in the playoffs.

 

I still haven’t seen him reach his 2018/19 season and early 2019/20 season level of play yet though. 2018/19 was his true breakout year. That’s when he went from being talked about as a great young player to being talked about as a legit superstar and possibly the 2nd best player next to McDavid. 2018/19 was a pretty incredible season for him. He really just put the team on his back almost every night. Then he started out 2019/20 even better before tailing off as the season went on. (can’t remember, he may have had an injury mid season…)

 

I still think he has it in him to get to that level again. For a while I was starting to wonder if he just wouldn’t be the same after the neck injury but now I’m starting to see more of the old Eichel.

I hope you are right, he seems to fit well with us

[K-9]

Regarding Johnny Eichel: he’s an elite hockey player, full stop.

 

That said, I was never happier to see a great player leave because as great a player as he is, he is that much more of a douche. I’ve heard that for years from people both at the PSE offices and KBC. I also take what Gionta and Rivet have said as an indication those reports are true. 
 

And he’s full of crap, too. When he was on the Chris Weidman podcast last year, he flat out lied when he said that the Sabres okayed the ADR procedure but then suddenly changed their mind. He also threw shade at the medical staff, too. Never mind that Dr. Cappuccino, the preeminent specialist in the field who has performed more of these cervical disc procedures than anyone on the planet and who teaches the procedure to surgeons around the world and who is a Sabres’ team medical consultant, was the one who recommended the fusion procedure vs. the ADR. The Sabres were steadfast in their agreement with that recommendation and never wavered on the issue. 
 

Johnny Eichel can go F himself from here to next week for all I care and I couldn’t care less about any cups he wins or not. 
 

 

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

It is startling to see the lack of interest in the Stars here in DFW, even though they're in the semi-finals.

 

[Jauronimo]

4 minutes ago, \GoBillsInDallas/ said:

It is startling to see the lack of interest in the Stars here in DFW, even though they're in the semi-finals.

 

You kind of have to not care about anything to live in Dallas.

[4merper4mer]

2 hours ago, K-9 said:

Regarding Johnny Eichel: he’s an elite hockey player, full stop.

 

That said, I was never happier to see a great player leave because as great a player as he is, he is that much more of a douche. I’ve heard that for years from people both at the PSE offices and KBC. I also take what Gionta and Rivet have said as an indication those reports are true. 
 

And he’s full of crap, too. When he was on the Chris Weidman podcast last year, he flat out lied when he said that the Sabres okayed the ADR procedure but then suddenly changed their mind. He also threw shade at the medical staff, too. Never mind that Dr. Cappuccino, the preeminent specialist in the field who has performed more of these cervical disc procedures than anyone on the planet and who teaches the procedure to surgeons around the world and who is a Sabres’ team medical consultant, was the one who recommended the fusion procedure vs. the ADR. The Sabres were steadfast in their agreement with that recommendation and never wavered on the issue. 
 

Johnny Eichel can go F himself from here to next week for all I care and I couldn’t care less about any cups he wins or not. 
 

 

I agree with all of that and am usually not the grammar police but you misspelled Eichole.