The current makeup of the Buffalo roster isn’t working – Jason Botterill
By Jourdon LaBarber / Sabres.com
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Phil Housley had a common message for his players during exit meetings for the Buffalo Sabres on Monday: Get ready for training camp, because it’s not going to be easy.
“Obviously, to be at this position at this point in the season and [say] how disappointing it is, is an understatement,” Housley said. “When I came here, I didn’t envision being here in this place. We can learn from what happened in the past here, but obviously we can’t change what’s happened.
“What we can do to change is make sure we’re ready for camp.”
If their comments on locker cleanout day are any indication, the players should be up to the task. As they dissected their last-place finish while meeting with the media, players seemed resigned to the fact that change is in order if they’re going to right the ship.
There will be external change – Jason Botterill said as much back at the trade deadline, when he was blunt in saying that the current makeup of the team’s roster wasn’t working. But change must also come from within, according to Housley, and his players echoed the sentiment.
Jack Eichel was at the forefront in that regard.
“We have to communicate a message to our fans, our organization, our city, that as bad as things were, we’re going to change it,” Eichel said. “We’re going to change things around here. It starts with the guys in the room.
“… It starts with the guys that are our leaders. It’s been a tough three years, but I’m fully invested in this team, this organization, this city. I’m here for a while. I’m excited about it. I’m excited about the future. I think things will get better, and it starts with me. I, personally, need to get better and I think that’s one of the ways I needed to grow up a bit.”
The Sabres have missed the playoffs for seven-straight seasons. Jason Pominville, who was on the organization’s last playoff team in 2010-11, said it became apparent during the season that the dressing room had become accustomed to losing.
Other players agreed. Ryan O’Reilly, Kyle Okposo and Sam Reinhart all admitted to varying degrees that a culture of losing has crept into the team.
“It’s unfortunate, but it’s something that can’t be acceptable,” Pominville said. “And at times – I know everyone wants to win, no one wants to lose – you kind of have those habits where it becomes acceptable almost, without even realizing it.
“I mean, you could ask other guys on the team that have been on winning teams, it’s something that’s noticeable and that has to change.”
Scott Wilson was a late addition to the team, acquired from Detroit in December after winning the Stanley Cup last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He said that things as simple as habits in a morning skate can be what separate successful organizations from losing ones.
“I think just intensity,” he said. “Simple passes, whether it’s the first or the last drill. Just being intense and really taking it into your own hands to be ready for that night. I think sometimes we got away from that. But the good news is that’s something you can clean up. It’s not a lack of skill or a lack of talent in here. It’s just being a pro every day.”
Both Pominville and Wilson were adamant in their belief that the Sabres have the pieces to get the job done. Okposo was, too, having been on the New York Islanders for five futile seasons before they began a string of three playoff appearances in four years back in 2013.
“It’s tough, but I saw it happen,” Okposo said. “I went through the first five years of my career and we were not a playoff team, we were not a good hockey team. And then it changed. We didn’t have a lot of playoff experience on the Islanders. The first time we played in the playoffs, we had 16 guys out of 20 playing their first playoff game.
“But we learned how to become a good team after that. It’s a mindset. It’s working every day, like I said. So, it can change. It can, without playoff experience. But it has to be a complete buy-in from everybody and it has to be every game.”
Several players said that consistency in habits is needed in order to have consistency in games. The Sabres won three-straight contests on just one occasion this season. They managed back-to-back wins four times.
“It just seemed like we’d play a good game, feel good about ourselves,” Eichel said. “We’d play a good few games, feel good about ourselves. And then there’d be a one or two-game, three-game lapse, and then you’re back to questioning yourself again. I think that’s the thing we need to change.
“… I thought there were some really good moments but consistently it just wasn’t there. You look at some of the games that maybe we weren’t playing against the best team or there wasn’t the most at stake during that game, I thought maybe we didn’t come ready to play.
“I think that’s on us and it’s something we need to change.”
Of course, change must start at the beginning. The Sabres began this season with five-straight losses and went on to win just three games in October, which Housley said was particularly damaging to their confidence given the team’s recent history. That early hole proved insurmountable.
Next training camp, Housley won’t have to spend time implementing a new system. Implementing a new culture begins on day one.
“We have to be ready to go,” Housley said. “I think our start is going to be crucial for our season next year, and that starts in training camp. We can talk about the results that we had this year, but our playoffs start on the first day of training camp.”