Jack Eichel Takes Over The Sabres, Tells Dan Bylsma To Pack His Shit
WGR – Buffalo Sabres general manager Tim Murray said last Wednesday that he would be meeting with the Pegulas this week and we have heard today is the day…Murray said last week that he had just finished his exit meeting with Jack Eichel that day and that was the last meeting. I think you know Eichel would not be shy during that meeting because he knows he can say anything he wants since this rebuild was all about getting him and the second overall pick the year before…Inside sources have told me that Eichel has no desire to sign a contract extension this summer if Bylsma remains the coach, so quite a bit hinges on this meeting.
I’m already starting to see a lot of people coming out and saying this is a “diva” moment for Jack Eichel. Coach killer this, coach killer that. Yada yada yada.
But let me take you bitches to school real quick.
Jack Eichel knows that this is his team. Jack Eichel knows that wherever he goes, the Sabres go. Jack Eichel knows that in order for the Sabres to succeed, he needs to succeed. And what he knows for sure is that he can’t succeed with Dan Bylsma behind the bench. So if you’re the Buffalo Sabres, who do you side with? The kid who you the entire future of your organization relies on, or the coach who was able to win one Cup with the Penguins after taking over in the middle of the season and then wasting that roster for his remaining 5 years in Pittsburgh? Sure, he won the Jack Adams in 2011. But Patrick Roy also won a Jack Adams before and we all saw how well that worked out… All I’m saying is that it seems like a pretty easy decision to me and Eichel is just speeding up the process.
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And if you’re Eichel, how do you not try to use the leverage you have in this situation to get the change this team desperately needs? The Sabres have had 2 seasons with Eichel now in their rebuild. They finished 2nd to last in their division last year and they finished last in the Atlantic this year. Meanwhile, Connor McDavid has gotten everything he’s needed so far in Edmonton and they’re playing playoff hockey. Auston Matthews and Babcock have gotten Toronto back to the playoffs. And there’s Jack Eichel and the Sabres. In the same exact spot they were before the rebuild began. I can’t blame the kid one bit for being frustrated and fed up. And if I’m anybody else within the Sabres organization, I’m feeling pretty pumped about this. This is a kid taking over the team and taking over the locker room because he’s sick and tired of losing. He’s already called out a few teammates for their work ethic. Now he’s called out the coaches. Can that be perceived as being a dickhead? Maybe. But at least he’s trying to be a leader and hold people accountable.
UPDATE: Since the time I wrote this blog and the time it got published, Eichel’s camp has already come out to refute the report. But shit like this doesn’t get out unless there’s something fucky going on. Where there’s smoke, there’s a coach getting fired.