BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Whatever butterflies Jack Eichel felt during his first visit back to Buffalo gradually dissipated as the Vegas Golden Knights' practice came to a close on Wednesday.
Completing the final team drill at one end of the ice, Eichel skated to the empty end and began snapping pucks into the open net from various angles when a smile emerged on his face. The former Sabres captain, wearing a white practice jersey with a Golden Knights logo on the chest, finally began feeling at ease.
“I told Patty, I scored a couple from here,” Eichel said, referring to teammate Nolan Patrick in pointing to spots in an arena where he scored 87 of his 139 goals during six seasons with Buffalo. “Yeah, I’ve had a lot of great memories in this building.”
Another one will come Thursday night, when Eichel plays his first game in Buffalo since getting traded to Vegas on Nov. 4 in a deal that ended an eight-month stalemate with the Sabres over how to treat a neck injury. It will also mark Eichel’s first game in Buffalo since a 3-0 loss to Philadelphia on Feb. 28 of last year, a week before being sidelined by the injury at Long Island.
“It’s a little awkward walking in here and going to the visitors’ room, but other guys have done it so it’s business as usual,” said Eichel, who will play his 11th game since being cleared to return.
The injury is behind him, with the Golden Knights allowing Eichel to have the artificial disc replacement procedure he preferred and refused by Sabres doctors, who instead recommended fusion surgery. And he’s put aside whatever frustrations he had toward the Sabres, from the dispute over surgery to the six losing seasons he experienced after being selected second overall in the 2015 NHL draft.
“No bitterness. None,” he said. “I had a phenomenal time here in Buffalo. Lived out my childhood dream playing in my first NHL game. The organization, the city was nothing but great for me and my family.”
If time heals most wounds, Eichel also benefits from the change of scenery — in both geography and especially the NHL standings.
No longer a member of a dysfunctional Sabres franchise, which is all but destined to miss the Stanley Cup playoffs for an NHL-record 11th season, the 25-year-old is playing for a Golden Knights team seeking to make its fifth consecutive postseason appearance since being established in 2017.
Rather than having to shoulder the burden of being the so-called franchise savior in Buffalo, Eichel is but one piece of a talent- and leadership-laden team in Vegas.
Trying not to do too much was the message Pete DeBoer had for Eichel upon his arrival, though the coach on Wednesday joked he might have to ask the first-line center to do a little more given the rash of injuries the Golden Knights are experiencing.
What’s impressed DeBoer is how eager Eichel has been to gel with his teammates, and how quickly he’s found his legs after missing nearly a calendar year.
“He’s big. He’s strong. He comes as advertised,” DeBoer said. “I have no doubt his game translates into playoff success. So we’ve got to get there and give him an opportunity.”
Wearing his familiar No. 9, Eichel has three goals and four assists in 10 games since making his Vegas debut in a 2-0 loss to Colorado on Feb. 16. Two games later, his first goal for the Golden Knights stood up as the first of two game-winners in a 4-1 victory at San Jose.
The Sabres, by comparison, are starting from scratch with a youth-filled roster, which includes Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebbs, who were acquired by Buffalo in the trade for Eichel. The Sabres also acquired a first- and second-round draft pick in the deal.
The focus in Buffalo is not facing Eichel, but how to continue spurring the developmental process for a team sitting 15th in the Eastern Conference standings.
“Games are won and lost by execution and preparation. We have to focus on that,” coach Don Granato said. “I don’t see much to it in the form of any sideshow. It’s just a normal day for us: Another ex-Sabre coming back into the building.”
Granato’s comments aren’t a reflection of the respect and friendship he built with Eichel, after the two had a lengthy chat after practice. Eichel also caught up with several former teammates as well as members of the Sabres training and equipment staff.
Though happy in Vegas, Eichel wished things could have been different in Buffalo while acknowledging that at times he struggled with the weight of being named the team’s youngest captain in 2018, two weeks shy of his 22nd birthday.
“I think it’s always easy to sit here now, look back and say, `I wish I would’ve done things differently,’ ” Eichel said. “I think I’ve learned a lot more. I’d probably do a better job now than I did then.”
He would prefer to be remembered as the player he was during his first five seasons in Buffalo, and gave back to the community through numerous charitable causes, rather than the one who knew his time was running out in asking for a trade before the start of the 2020-21 season.
Most of all, Eichel’s happy to have resumed playing, even if it might mean hearing a few boos in Buffalo.
“You think about what sort of reception you’re going to get, but I can’t control that. I feel like I gave everything I had while I was here,” Eichel said. “Whatever the reception is, I’ll be able to handle it. It’s hockey. And when the puck drops, you get a shift under your belt, I think it just becomes a game.”
___
More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
John Wawrow, The Associated Press