The Buffalo Sabres cleaned out their lockers on Monday morning. Jack Eichel and his teammates took time to say their goodbyes to one another, their coaches, training staff personnel and managers.
It's never fun to go home for the long summer after missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs, something their Sabres have done for the sixth straight postseason. The flirted with a wild card berth until they were forced to take their NHL mandated hiatus week in late February. After their hiatus, the team lost criticalbroad games in Colorado and Arizona which sent the team into an epic tail spin. Try as they might, the Sabres could not correct their course.
The rest is now history.
Eichel, who just completed the second season of his entry level contract, was the final player to speak with media. His interview session was tinged by disappointment and frustration. Eichel sounded like a gladiator who had just lost a battle. His words were forceful and dripping with emotion. He chewed his lower lip while he listened to the questions of inquisitive media members.
Thanks, Sabres.com
Like the majority of his Sabres mates, Eichel pointed the finger of blame squarely on himself for for the forgettable recently completed 33-37-12 The Sabres earned just 78 points in the standings in 2016-17 after earning 81 points (a 27 point bump) during the 2015-16 season.
Eichel wasn't happy. He isn't breaking his own arm patting himself on his own back.
Eichel was asked if he though all players were full participants or if there were some spectators.
“There’s a lot of great guys in the room,… Eichel said. “I’m not going to call anybody a passenger. I love all those guys. I enjoy being around them every day, just didn’t do enough to put our team where it needed to be. As a group, we all need to look in the mirror.…
"I think guys want to win but there's a difference between saying you want to win and actually wanting to win and putting the work in and dedicating your life to it," Eichel said. "When you do that and it doesn't work it's pretty frustrating."
To add insult to injury, Eichel learned late Sunday night that he would not be earning a lucrative performance bonus.
After their 3-2 season finale loss to Tampa, Eichel still found himself in the NHL's Top-10 with his .93 points per game average from this season. After missing the first 21 games of the season due to a high ankle sprain, Eichel went in to score 57 points in his 61 games played. It was an amazing feat indeed.
Had Eichel finished in the top 10 of points per game, he would have earned a "Schedule B… bonus Of $2 million.
Edmonton Oilers phenom forward Leon Draisaitl scored his 29th goal of the season in the third period of Sunday night's Edmonton vs. Vancouver contest. Connor McDavid registered his 100th point of the season in the same game.
Draisaitl's point production in the final game of the season leap frogged him ahead of Eichel for 10th Place in points per game and eliminated Jack's lucrative bonus by just 0.01 (Source:CapFriendly.com).
Eichel tied Brad Marchand for 5th in the NHL in second half scoring with 36 points in 34 games played..
Nikita Kucherov was 1st (41), Patrick Kane (40), Connor McDavid (39), Nick Backstrom (39).
Call it double jeopardy for Eichel who missed the playoffs and his bonus.
It's a tough lesson for Eichel to have to learn. He sees his contemporaries Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews preparing for the playoffs while he is heading home to Boston for the unusually long summer of training and introspection ahead.
When reminded by media that he was a point per game producer this season, Eichel shot back:
“I haven’t scratched the surface of what I can be,… Eichel said.