It has been one full year, more really, since the Jack Eichel Trade, and the Buffalo Sabres should treat the Vegas showdown as just another measuring stick.
Feelings remain hard when it comes to Jack Eichel, and fans of the Buffalo Sabres would love to see nothing more than another big win over their former captain and his current team. So would I, but not for the reasons most everyone else does.
I’m under the impression some in the Sabres faithful are more concerned about beating Eichel than they are about using the game against perhaps the best team in hockey to help measure progress.
Listen, the Sabres beat Eichel in his original homecoming last season on a play from Alex Tuch that spoke karma. They already got the satisfaction, so now it’s time to move on and worry about beating one of the NHL’s elite teams.
Now the Sabres are, despite a three-game losing streak and seemingly falling back to Earth in the Eastern Conference, a better hockey team thanks to the Jack Eichel Trade. And at this moment, there is no better team to measure progress against than the Vegas Golden Knights.
Buffalo Sabres measuring stick win over Vegas would be great
If the Sabres win tonight, I’ll rejoice, as I do every time they win. But I couldn’t care less whether that win came against Jack Eichel, the Boston Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs, or the Colorado Avalanche. What I am getting at is, I’ll be ecstatic to see the Sabres beat up on one of the best teams in the NHL, not necessarily one player whose tumultuous time here ended in a whimper.
Or a blockbuster, given the trade that emerged from it. A trade that could be franchise-altering for the Sabres. I’ve repeatedly said the Sabres won this trade, regardless of how good of a hockey team Vegas is, and that’s all that should matter in hindsight.
The Knights believed Eichel could complete their quest for the Cup. Right now, it’s looking that way. Meanwhile, the Sabres believed the likes of Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs could provide two additional puzzle pieces to add to their brewing foundation. So far, the returns have been positive.
If the Sabres beat the Knights in this evening’s contest, it will show just how far they have come as a hockey team. Jack Eichel just happens to be playing for that team the Sabres are playing. But personally, I’ll get far more satisfaction out of the fact the Sabres beat arguably the NHL’s best team more than getting over on one player.
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