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A decade-and-a-half of misery turned around this season, finally, for the Buffalo Sabres.
But as the NHL playoffs reach the Stanley Cup Finals, fans in Western New York can still only watch. And on their television screens is Jack Eichel, one of the top players in the world, suiting up for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Eichel, of course, was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft by the Sabres. They couldn't quite get the lottery luck of the Edmonton Oilers, who landed Connor McDavid with the top pick.
Still, the star from Boston University was a solid outcome.
Eichel never could get Buffalo back to the playoffs, though.
Instead, he had to go to Vegas to win one Stanley Cup already, and to become an Olympic gold medalist.
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How Jack Eichel went from Sabres to Golden Knights
Eichel put up increasing point totals in each of his first four NHL seasons, but injuries slowed him down in his final two Buffalo campaigns before he was traded.
The Sabres essentially got Peyton Krebs, Noah Ostlund and Alex Tuch in return.
Considering the roles of those players to this Buffalo season, that's about as well as it could've turned out for the Sabres.
Still, though, it meant they no longer had Eichel.
During the Golden Knights' run to the 2023 Stanley Cup, Eichel led the NHL with 26 playoff points (including 20 assists and 6 goals).
He also has an NHL-leading 16 assists entering this season's Stanley Cup Finals.
Eichel has reached the 90-point plateau for the first two times in the last two seasons, too. He's grown into one of the best passers in hockey while still being a strong goal scorer, too.
It feels a bit like it should be less painful for Buffalo now. Eichel tried to save the Sabres and couldn't do it, but that wasn't all on him.
Now, a kid who grew up as an NHL player in Western New York is trying to hoist the Cup again. There are worse things for Buffalo to root for.
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