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Something happened on Tuesday.
Jack Eichel and his agent finally reached an agreement with the Buffalo Sabres.
The feeling was finally right.
What happened?
We will learn more when Eichel speaks after Wednesday’s practice.
The best news for long-suffering Sabres fans is that Eichel is now under contract for the next nine seasons. Eichel wanted you. He told you he was coming for you, Buffalo.
Eichel doesn’t want to play anywhere else but in Buffalo. He wants to finish the job he started in 2015.
Eichel has vehemently stated that he wants to be a Buffalo Sabre for many, many years to come. Eichel said several times this summer that he wants to be with the Sabres when they are a perennial winner.
Eichel's agent, Peter Fish, told the Associated Press that his client wanted to be treated fairly in terms of his new contract. Eichel also stressed that he did not want to grab all available dollars. In other words, Eichel left dollars on the table for his buddy Samson Reinhart and other supporting cast mates. Reinhart's entry level contract ends on July 1, 2018.
Sabres GM Jason Botterill said earlier this summer that Reinhart's new deal will have to wait until next summer. If Reinhart has a breakout season of say 25 goals and 30 assists, he will put himself in position to earn $6M AAV for eight seasons. Also, Evander Kane is a pending UFA. If Kane tears it up with 30 goals this season, he will be looking for $7M AAV for 7-8 seasons.
"He didn't want to necessarily milk the Sabres for every last dollar," Eichel's agent Peter Fish told the AP. ...
— John Wawrow (@john_wawrow) October 4, 2017
He wanted to make sure that there's enough money to go around to get more players and help win a Cup," Fish said.
— John Wawrow (@john_wawrow) October 4, 2017
"What was important to him was winning in Buffalo and having enough supporting cast to be able to do it," Fish said.
— John Wawrow (@john_wawrow) October 4, 2017
Fish: "It was important for Jack to get a deal done that was friendly for both sides and would not hamstring the Sabres going forward."
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) October 4, 2017
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🚨 We've agreed to terms with @Jack_Eichel11 on an 8-year extension with an AAV of $10 million. pic.twitter.com/9L8hLcVFzP
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) October 3, 2017
8 year contract extension for Jack Eichel in Buffalo is complete. Aav of $10 million per year.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) October 3, 2017
**
Jack Eichel’s contract extension is “close… at hand.
"We are in serious talks," Eichel's agent, Peter Fish, told The Buffalo News via email Tuesday evening
The deal is reportedly going to be worth around $10 million annual average value, over eight seasons. Per Pierre LeBrun.
I’ve been reporting in this space for months that the new Eichel contract will be finalized in the $80 million stratosphere.
The new contract will make Eichel one of the highest-paid players in the NHL in 2017-18.
By virtue of his new 8 year, $100 million contract extension, Connor McDavid will have the league’s top cap hit at $12.5M AAV, followed by Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Carey Price at $10.5 million, then Eichel and Anze Kopitar at $10 million.
Eichel is in the final season of his three-year entry-level contract signed when he entered the the NHL 2015 when the Sabres selected him second overall.
Sabres GM Jason Botterill and Eichel’s agent have been working on this deal since July 1.
The North Chelmsford, Mass. native moses the first 21 games of the 2016-16 season with a high ankle sprain, however, les the Sabres with 57 points in 61 games played.
In leading the Sabres in points, Eichel became just the fourth player in franchise history to lead the team in points before turning 21, joining Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin and Pierre Turgeon.
Since entering the NHL in 2015-16, Eichel ranks second among Sabres players with 113 points (48+65) in 142 career games. In his career, the Sabres are 41-21-6 when he records a point and 22-5-1 when he records at least two points in a game.
Eichel has scored 24 goals in each of his first two seasons in the NHL. On Day 1 of training camp last month, Eichel called his first two seasons in Buffalo “Mediocre… and committed to being a better leader and all around player this season.
Eichel will no doubt be the next captain of the Sabres.
Phil Housley and Jason Botterill should just hand Eichel his “C… sweater at the press conference to announce his new deal.
Eichel finished 11th in the NHL with 0.9344 points per game. He missed out on a $2-million bonus for finishing out of the Top 10 in points per game. Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl was 10th overall with 0.939 PPG.
Jack Eichel isn't believing his own press clippings. Eichel isn't breaking his arm patting himself on the back. The North Chelmsford, Mass. native said Thursday morning he hasn't proved anything in the NHL in his first two NHL seasons.
"I have a lot to prove," Eichel said on the first day of Buffalo Sabres training camp. "Actually, I think I've proven nothing. It's a huge year for me personally and as a team. We want to obviously take the next step as a team, and I think for us to do that we need some guys to take the next step as players, and I need to be one of them.
"I just need to step up around the room, on the ice, big situations for our team do more and prove that I can be our go-to-guy."
Short. Sweet. To the point. Candid. Transparent. Never satisfied.
Spoken like a man.
Spoken like an NHL captain.
Hello, Jack. Welcome back.
Eichel doesn't want to hear about how great he was when he scored 48 goals and 113 points in his first 142 NHL games played.
Eichel wants you to save your platitudes and your gratuitous compliments. Eichel isn't buying any of it. Jack is back. He isn't content. He's motivated and more driven than we have seen him in his first two professional seasons.
Like his locker neighbor Ryan O'Reilly, Eichel is here to tell you he has much more to give.
"If you look at what I've done, it hasn't been a whole lot. Two mediocre seasons on a losing team," Eichel said. "We just need to be better as a group this year, and I think everyone went home with the right mindset that we wanted to get better and head into this season, hit the ground running."
Mediocre?
Far from it.
Hell, he suffered a high ankle sprain day before the 2016-17 season opener in a collision with Zemgus Girgensons. He missed the first 21 games of his sophomore season. Eichel then went on to score 57 points in 61 games. You call that mediocre? I call it mug macho.
Eichel, the 2015 Hobey Baker winner, expects more of himself. The face of the Buffalo franchise confidently stepped to the podium to tell you that he isn't impressed by his own personal stats nor is he distracted by his in-progress mega-contract negotiations.
"It's the third year, so if there's ever a time to start winning and be a good team in this league it's right now," Eichel said. "All the guys are pretty sick of losing and not playing in the playoffs. I don't think I'm the only guy. I think I can speak for a lot of guys in the room that we've got to be there at the end of the year.
"You've got to be a playoff team, and it starts now. That's the ultimate goal. You want to be there at the end of the year. You want to be playing in the postseason. I think this city, this team, this organization is starved for it."
I love that Eichel is critical of his own game. He isn't a selfish guy. He's a highly competitive person. He wants to deliver a Stanley Cup to hockey mad Buffalo.
***
I had it all wrong and I’m willing it admit it here and now.
I had no idea the Buffalo Sabres would be keeping free agents forward Seth Griffith and defenseman Matt Tennyson. I has prospect forward Justin Bailey making the opening night roster along with veteran D Taylor Fedun. Both Bailey and Fedun played well in exhibition games.
The Sabres have finalized their opening night roster and it includes the two long shot free agents Griffith and Tennyson.
Early Tuesday afternoon, the Sabres assigned injured forwards Alexander Nylander and Sean Malone to the Rochester Amerks.
To make his roster NHL compliant by the 5pm EDT deadline, Sabres GM Jason Botterill placed forward Evan Rodrigues and defenseman Justin Falk on injured reserve.
The Sabres now have 23 players (12 forwards, 9 defensemen and two goalies) on their training camp roster.
#Sabres Opening Roster 👌🏒🔜 pic.twitter.com/Ue8z6NLz4W
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) October 3, 2017
Griffith, 24, played 24 NHL games last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers where he scored zero goals. Griffith then potted 10 goals and 34 assists in 38 games for the Toronto Marlies.
Tennyson, 27, played 45 games for the Carolina Hurricanes where he scored zero goals and had six assists.
Tennyson is a right shot D. Sabres righty Zach Bogosian was injured in Friday night’s loss to the NY islanders. Bogosian didn’t practice on Tuesday and his status is “day to day…. In the event Bogosian can’t play versus Montreal on Thursday night, Tennyson would play the insurance policy role.
Phil Housley’s line trios at Tuesday practice:
Kane-Eichel-Pominville Pouliot-O'Reilly-Okposo Girgensons-Reinhart-Griffith Moulson/Larsson-Josefson-Nolan
Duos:
Beaulieu-Ristolainen McCabe-Antipin Scandella-Tennyson *Gorges
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Buffalo Sabres prospect Casey Mittelstadt wasted little time making a great first impression in his debut for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. The freshman sensation scored this beauty on Sunday night. Mittelstadt also added three assists in his rockstar debut.
You only have one chance to make a first impression. @CMittelstadt didn't disappoint in his #Gophers debut. #PrideOnIce pic.twitter.com/SDXdL0khd1
— Minnesota M Hockey (@GopherHockey) October 3, 2017
The #3 Gopher Hockey program unofficially opened the 2017-18 campaign with a 6-2 exhibition win over Alberta on Sunday night.
Ten Gophers tallied points in the win including multi-point games from Mittelstadt, Brent Gates Jr. (two goals), Mike Szmatula (two assists), Rem Pitlick (two assists) and Scott Reedy (one goal, one assist).
Unofficially, Mittelstadt tallied the first goal of the season for the Maroon & Gold with his backhander at 5:53 of the first period.
**
George Parros and the NHL Department Of Player Safety have made an example of Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson.
Parros and DOPS have given Wilson a four game suspension for his boarding foul on St. Louis Blues’ Sam Blais.
Washington’s Tom Wilson suspended four games for boarding St. Louis’ Sam Blais. https://t.co/DTQhWVmY2n
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) October 3, 2017