Jack Eichel finally returned to Buffalo, the team who drafted him back in 2015, and the team he represented until November last year, when he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights. The trade came after a month of speculations, and during Eichel’s final months with the Sabres, he couldn’t have been more clear on how bad he thought of the organization.
Naturally, there were a lot of eyes pointed to Buffalo last night to see how the fans would treat Eichel in his return as he stepped on the ice as a Golden Knight.
The Sabres showed a tribute video for Eichel in the first TV timeout, but the fans mostly responded with boos rather than applauses. The game also drew a season-high crowd for Buffalo, with 12,437 in the stands. But Jack Eichel wasn’t impressed.
After the game, he raised some eyebrows after taking some stinging jab at the booing fans.
” It’s the loudest I’ve heard this place ever. Really,” Eichel said after the game. “It only took seven years and me leaving for them to get into the game. It was a nice tribute. There were plenty of people here that were supporting me, and there were plenty of people that were booing me. They must just be booing me because they wish I were still here, I don’t know.”
Eichel also got treated with some non-friendly signs from his former fans, as several fans took the opportunity to take shots at him.
” Thanks for nothing, Eichel,” one sign read.
Although Jack Eichel got the last laugh with his postgame comments about the fans, he had a rough night on the ice. He finished minus-one, with just two shots on goal, in 17:31 time on the ice.
