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In his second game back in Buffalo - Jack Eichel scores a hat trick, then stares down the crowd.

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Lil226 said:
He still screams very unlikable to me. F Eichel and I'm a Habs fan with zero interest.
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Eichel is popular in the locker room according to all local reports, but your post isn't far off the target in that Eichel does publicly seem to be of the unlikeable sort. Noting that this isn't rare for star athletes: Michael Jordan wasn't the least bit likeable off the court, nor Kobe Bryant (who didn't start out that way, but later modeled his persona after Jordan), Aaron Rodgers, Ty Cobb (most notoriously), Roger Clements, and numerous others. For that matter, I'm not sure that going out on the town with Leo Draisatl would be that much fun. And, hey, maybe hockey could use a bad guy that fans love to hate.
 
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I mean, that's absolutely hilarious. But that's also kind of emblematic of why Buffalo ended up moving on from him in the first place. It was always all about Eichel. And that chip on his shoulder often seemed to be directed internally, toward the Sabres...even when he was still on the team.

Fun little footnote on the year though. Perhaps not as much fun for Sabres fans right now, but it is what it is. They're hardy folks, well seasoned in suffering. They'll survive it.
 
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VivaLasVegas said:
Eichel is popular in the locker room according to all local reports, but your post isn't far off the target in that Eichel does publicly seem to be of the unlikeable sort. Noting that this isn't rare for star athletes: Michael Jordan wasn't the least bit likeable off the court, nor Kobe Bryant (who didn't start out that way, but later modeled his persona after Jordan), Aaron Rodgers, Ty Cobb (most notoriously), Roger Clements, and numerous others. For that matter, I'm not sure that going out on the town with Leo Draisatl would be that much fun. And, hey, maybe hockey could use a bad guy that fans love to hate.
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Tbh, it sounds like a lot more fun to me, to go "out on the town" with Draisaitl over Eichel.

I could see Draisaitl being an absolute tank off the ice as well, but i could also see him trying to play that hysterically stoic "nobody can tell i'm drunk" playing it cool schtick, very seriously. Which can also be hilarious. But mostly, it seems like it'd probably just be putting away beers at a beer hall. I don't have the energy to keep up with Eichel shenanigans.

But it's the same reason i don't really have any interest in a place like Vegas as a whole. Feels like Eichel is a pretty good "personality/vibe" fit for the City. Which is apparently very popular, but not all that appealing to me.


Also fair points about a lot of other "top athletes" not really being that "likeable" and maybe not even that "popular" among their teammates. But respect for top level performance and obsession with winning can also carry a guy a long ways with those teammates. The whole, "they may not like him, but they respect him" deal. Eichel probably has a ways to go to achieve that sort of level though.

Team chemistry and "fit" is such a complex psychological experiment in general. It takes some different types. It also takes certain types to really carry the mail in certain types of markets. Takes a different personality to be in the forefront in a place like Vegas, than it does somewhere like Columbus, or in the Fishbowls of Toronto/Montreal, etc. etc. Everywhere is different, and it never really did feel like Eichel's big, brash, kind of abrasive persona really completely meshed with the Sabres for some reason. Never felt like he really wanted to be there.
 
biturbo19 said:
Tbh, it sounds like a lot more fun to me, to go "out on the town" with Draisaitl over Eichel.

I could see Draisaitl being an absolute tank off the ice as well, but i could also see him trying to play that hysterically stoic "nobody can tell i'm drunk" playing it cool schtick, very seriously. Which can also be hilarious. But mostly, it seems like it'd probably just be putting away beers at a beer hall. I don't have the energy to keep up with Eichel shenanigans.

But it's the same reason i don't really have any interest in a place like Vegas as a whole. Feels like Eichel is a pretty good "personality/vibe" fit for the City. Which is apparently very popular, but not all that appealing to me.


Also fair points about a lot of other "top athletes" not really being that "likeable" and maybe not even that "popular" among their teammates. But respect for top level performance and obsession with winning can also carry a guy a long ways with those teammates. The whole, "they may not like him, but they respect him" deal. Eichel probably has a ways to go to achieve that sort of level though.

Team chemistry and "fit" is such a complex psychological experiment in general. It takes some different types. It also takes certain types to really carry the mail in certain types of markets. Takes a different personality to be in the forefront in a place like Vegas, than it does somewhere like Columbus, or in the Fishbowls of Toronto/Montreal, etc. etc. Everywhere is different, and it never really did feel like Eichel's big, brash, kind of abrasive persona really completely meshed with the Sabres for some reason. Never felt like he really wanted to be there.
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Very good points all. The single biggest concern that a lot of VGK fans had, including me, was "How will Eichel affect the team's chemistry?" So far, it's been good. The concern, of course, is whether it will stay good, and my guess is that the VGK organization is keeping a pretty close eye on that.

Also agree that being a star in some places is definitely different in some cities than others. Vegas is a city that is chock-full of entertainment stars, hockey is still more of a novelty than a way of life, and it is probably much easier for a guy like Eichel to simply fade in with the masses and live an otherwise mostly-normal life than it would be in one of the hockey-centric cities. Max Pacioretty in an interview this summer described it this way:

"I mentioned that at the end of the year that no one is really holding us accountable,” Pacioretty explained. “If we have a bad year like this, the city would be half on fire in Montreal. Here in Vegas, it’s 80 degrees, and it’s sunny. We’re getting our car washed and getting our organic food, and going to play golf."

Oh, and I agree with you that going out with Leo might actually turn out to be a hoot.
 
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DatsCute13 said:
The Sabres organization has been a mess for a decade. Six different coaches, 4 different GMs. Guy is in his prime and wants to play playoff hockey, and it's not happening in Buffalo. Not the past 11 years, and not this year either.

Pissed on the fans? They pissed on him first once he wanted to leave, because he wants to be apart of a winning organization, which is not Buffalo.

Again, I understand the emotional side from Sabres fans, but logically there's no blaming him.
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Almost like he didn't sign an 8 year contract....
 
Wallet Inspector said:
Buffalo was doing(another) rebuild why should he stick around?
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What are you talking about? Trading him what started another rebuild....it was Reinhart who didn't want to stay due to Eichel being traded as a sign of rebuilding. Sabres were spending to the cap every year he was here and Hall was one of the biggest FA signings.
 
DatsCute13 said:
Almost like he believed in the organization after 2 years but eventually realized the truth...
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Whatever you say to justify your dumb point he spent his last year on IR great with 2 goals in 21 games after getting coaches and GMs fired. Didn't even make the playoffs with Vegas last year so great choice.
 
DatsCute13 said:
How's Buffalo doing this year? How about Vegas?

Your comment couldn't be dumber.
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Sabres were at the top of the standings by the end of the November one year do they get a banner for early November records yet? I wasn't aware the president trophy was handed out yet :biglaugh:
 
The antics of buffalo fans during this game was an embarrassment. Booing everyone shift. Standing ovation for a goalie making Sabres on him. Etc. Get over it. And maybe remember the fact that the organization was just as much at fault for everything that went down.
 
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DatsCute13 said:
The Sabres organization has been a mess for a decade. Six different coaches, 4 different GMs. Guy is in his prime and wants to play playoff hockey, and it's not happening in Buffalo. Not the past 11 years, and not this year either.

Pissed on the fans? They pissed on him first once he wanted to leave, because he wants to be apart of a winning organization, which is not Buffalo.

Again, I understand the emotional side from Sabres fans, but logically there's no blaming him.
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Kinda funny that when he leaves the team does a complete 180 though. I wonder if he played a part in the six different coaches & 4 different GMs. It's not like they didn't try to get talent for him.

Sabres just expected him to be a bus driver, not a passenger.
 
hopefully one day in his career Eichel can actually prove something....aside from this moment time will soon forget.
 
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TF1970 said:
The antics of buffalo fans during this game was an embarrassment. Booing everyone shift. Standing ovation for a goalie making Sabres on him. Etc. Get over it. And maybe remember the fact that the organization was just as much at fault for everything that went down.
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Idk eichel seems like a twat
 
Well, Eichel got shit on his whole time in Buffalo, mostly by management and coaching failing to put a competent product around him his time there. It was a bad break up, Buffalo booed and maybe rightfully so given how he exited, and Eichel showed them what they could have had given a competent GM and owner. It is what it is.
 
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