Nathan Balloon: Playing in Buffalo "Mentally degrading"

[WildCard]

Just popped up on my feed, don't have the link right now 

[Thorner]

....and so was watching him play. Have fun in Winnipeg

/thread

[Randall Flagg]

Beaulieu was a lot better his second year here, and yet Phil wouldn't stop playing him the year he sucked and wouldn't put him on the ice the second year 

[SwampD]

Nice autocorrect.

[Brawndo]

From the article 

Playing on a team that was in or near the NHL’s basement, Beaulieu had fallen out of favour and frequently found himself in Phil Housley’s doghouse as a healthy scratch last season.

Beaulieu wanted out and his feelings had been passed along to Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill.

“I wasn’t in a good situation, I guess you could say. I tried to get out of there multiple times and it just didn’t happen,” Beaulieu said during a one-on-one conversation after Tuesday’s practice at Bridgestone Arena. “I played on some good teams in Montreal, we made the playoffs every year except for one. Then you go to the complete polar opposite for two years in a row and it tests your will and your love for the game, for sure.

“You heard Ryan O’Reilly say it and I know (the Sabres) didn’t like what he said, but he couldn’t have put it better. I could say the exact same thing.”

Losing on a frequent basis is mentally taxing, no matter how thankful a player is to be playing in the best league in their chosen field of work.

That’s what O’Reilly essentially said before he was traded to the St. Louis Blues in the summer of 2018 and Beaulieu echoes those sentiments.

“You really question a lot of things,” said Beaulieu. “I know we have such an amazing life, but if you don’t enjoy it, it’s not all it’s (cracked) up to be because it gets tough and there are some dark days.

“All the money (in the world) couldn’t save it. Mentally, it was so degrading.”

So when the NHL trade deadline arrived last February and Beaulieu still hadn’t heard from either the team or his agent, he had resigned himself to the fact he might be stuck in purgatory for the remainder of the season.

Then, his phone rang with the news he had been waiting for.

“I was expecting it to happen a lot earlier than it did – and I got the call after the deadline too, roughly 20 minutes after the deadline,” said Beaulieu. “I thought I was stuck. I was extremely thrilled. Coming over to Winnipeg at the time I did was a blessing. They gave me a big opportunity right away.”

---

Going from a team near the bottom of the standings to one in top spot in the Central Division was a liberating feeling for Beaulieu.

Since he arrived after Josh Morrissey suffered a shoulder injury that would keep him out for the final 20 games of the regular season, Beaulieu got into the lineup immediately and was placed on the shutdown pairing with Jacob Trouba.

It’s another example of how quickly one’s lot in life can change.

When Beaulieu didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Jets last June because they didn’t want to either match his salary or go to arbitration, the defenceman became an unrestricted free agent.

But while he was able to listen to offers from other teams, Beaulieu chose to bet on himself, taking a one-year deal worth $1 million from the Jets instead.

[WildCard]

6 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Nice autocorrect.

No autocorrect I just don't know how to spell his name 

[SwampD]

Just now, WildCard said:

No autocorrect I just don't know how to spell his name 

Um. It's in the article you posted.

EDIT: never mind, You didn't post the article.

Edited November 20, 2019 by SwampD

[Thorner]

10 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

Beaulieu was a lot better his second year here, and yet Phil wouldn't stop playing him the year he sucked and wouldn't put him on the ice the second year 

He's still not a good hockey player, regardless. Not that that disqualifies his comments, but, ya, he's not good. Just want that out there. 

[SwampD]

18 minutes ago, Sidc3000 said:

Interesting timing for this article

Jets' Beaulieu: Playing in Buffalo was mentally 'degrading'

 

15 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

This franchise was 4th in all time regular season win percentage when it was purchased in 2011. I believe it had one of the highest percentages of seasons in the playoffs too.

Incredible 

We've had low points as a franchise before. None lower than since the decision to tank was made.

[Stoner]

He (and ROR) weren't talking about the town. A'tall. Lehner did sort of, by claiming that fans booed the team before it came on the ice, which I would bet has never happened in 50 years. Too bad the author felt the need to quote that players' survey. It's neither here nor there.

[WildCard]

Players hate losing, and the fans do too. They can feel how much we hate it so they hate it here. It's not rocket appliances 

[Thorner]

2 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

He (and ROR) weren't talking about the town. A'tall. Lehner did sort of, by claiming that fans booed the team before it came on the ice, which I would bet has never happened in 50 years. Too bad the author felt the need to quote that players' survey. It's neither here nor there.

It's funny cause Winnipeg ranks below Buffalo on that survey if we are thinking of the same one. 

[miles]

he was one of the worst sabres players on the team. in fact, im surprised he got another nhl deal. 

[PerreaultForever]

This constant echo however is why it may be impossible to fix this team outside of trading away the entire roster and starting from scratch. Anyone who is here for any length of time or comes from somewhere better becomes psychologically damaged. 

[bunomatic]

What he said isn’t wrong. It is demoralizing to constantly lose. It also sucks to be a fan of a team that just can’t get it right. But He was a part of the team and he talks like he was separate from it. You don’t want guys like him in your room. That being said The damage being done to Buffalo and to the Sabres through all this losing is horrendous. A once proud franchise wallowing in ineptitude. 

[Scottysabres]

Very sad to see it come to this. The 80's weren't a picnic some years but I never questioned the team's desire to be competitive, not like now anyways.

What is the solution? As a life long fan I honestly don't have the slightest idea. Something is seriously wrong here. The team literally shouldn't keep having these competitive fire breakdowns, and yet, it appears to be an every season event. New players? Same problem. Youth movement? Same problem. Management and coaching changes? Same problem.

Something is very seriously wrong with this picture. And what's really disappointing is that I saw it in Eichels post game tonight.

[Thorner]

47 minutes ago, Scottysabres said:

Very sad to see it come to this. The 80's weren't a picnic some years but I never questioned the team's desire to be competitive, not like now anyways.

What is the solution? As a life long fan I honestly don't have the slightest idea. Something is seriously wrong here. The team literally shouldn't keep having these competitive fire breakdowns, and yet, it appears to be an every season event. New players? Same problem. Youth movement? Same problem. Management and coaching changes? Same problem.

Something is very seriously wrong with this picture. And what's really disappointing is that I saw it in Eichels post game tonight.

They highlighted his postgame on TSN and I thought Jack sounded great. Kept repeating that they cannot feel sorry for themselves and that no one else will and it’s about, to use his words “giving a sh*t about the guy next to you”. He was measured and composed, matter of fact and determined but not fielding the questions with anger. 

Gone are the days where I’d be slightly weary of the fans of other teams stumbling upon Jack’s postgame pressers, and what they might say. He’s downright captainly in them. 

Edited November 20, 2019 by Thorny

[Kruppstahl]

“I thought I was stuck. I was extremely thrilled. Coming over to Winnipeg at the time I did was a blessing."

When folks consider it a "blessing" to get off your team and get shipped out to The Peg, you've got serious, serious problems.

 

 

[nucci]

5 hours ago, bunomatic said:

What he said isn’t wrong. It is demoralizing to constantly lose. It also sucks to be a fan of a team that just can’t get it right. But He was a part of the team and he talks like he was separate from it. You don’t want guys like him in your room. That being said The damage being done to Buffalo and to the Sabres through all this losing is horrendous. A once proud franchise wallowing in ineptitude. 

This is what you get for losing on purpose. 

[Doohicksie]

8 hours ago, bunomatic said:

But He was a part of the team and he talks like he was separate from it. You don’t want guys like him in your room.

Do you think there's *anyone* in the Sabres room that feels any different at this point? 

[shrader]

13 hours ago, WildCard said:

No autocorrect I just don't know how to spell his name 

When it doubt, just add vowels.

[That Aud Smell]

Nothing he's quoted as saying surprises me. I don't disagree with any of it.

I'm just about signed off on this season. The franchise's inability to get the ship righted is nothing short of astonishing.

[darksabre]

Degrading is a hell of a word choice.

[Taro T]

12 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

This constant echo however is why it may be impossible to fix this team outside of trading away the entire roster and starting from scratch. Anyone who is here for any length of time or comes from somewhere better becomes psychologically damaged. 

Understand the sentiment, but blowing it all up again won't be the answer unless they are really lucky.  (And they don't seem to be particularly lucky; landing Dahlin not withstanding.)

Everybody's trade value when losing gets depressed a bit so they won't get full value in most cases.  Simply cutting guys like Okposo would put the team right back into cap jail when the new crew starts to need all the cap space available to it.  And they'll end up letting guys that could've helped, such as Byron, walk because they haven't stood out enough to be believed to be part of the solution.

Really don't believe these guys are "psychologically damaged.". They just are now finally at a spot where they're actually icing an NHL team though they have some holes still to fill to ice a good NHL team.  1-2 forwards and a goalie that plays like it's October would definitely help. 

But though they aren't damaged, they are definitely gripping the sticks too tight.  In the 1st alone they had at least 4 excellent scoring chances ( and probably 6) that the puck wasn't even on the net.  Maybe playing Boston next will be a good thing as Eichel usually plays well there and a win against "a good team" could seriously help the psyche.

And if they get bombed, we get to read more stories about former Sabres who are glad they aren't here any longer.  (Just shoot us now and put us out of our misery.)

[Stoner]

Barrie Moore will be making a statement at 2:30 p.m.