Kyle Okposo's letter to Sabres fans

[mjd1001]

2 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

Yesterday I read the letter, checked the weather and then snagged a pair of tickets for the game today. Hoping they can live up to the effort promise. One game is easy, but can they put in the work game after game? This team has lacked that kind of consistency since the tank started. I'm hoping this is actually a new start.

 

Go sabres 

It is a Saturday afternoon game. If anything, you almost ALWAYS get a lot more kids/families at those games.

Boston has been doing it for years...making almost EVERY saturday game they play a home game in the afternoon. I wouldn't mind seeing the Sabres push the NHL to make them do the same.   Friday nights can be the 'weekend out night game', maybe have 1 or 2 Saturday night games, but I'd love to see Saturday afternoon games be as much of a thing here as they are in Boston.

[CallawaySabres]

Hard not to love this.

[Weave]

This is why all you jamokes bitching about Okposo being on the team, being an anchor, not providing enough value were wrong.  This is the guy we needed 5 of on the team five seasons ago.  He can still play the game at a reduced level, but that’s not his real value.  His real value always was the intangibles he brings.  I don’t know how some of you didn’t see the value in that.  Didn’t see how that was worth an overpayment on a team full of kids.

KO makes my very short list of players I’ll have a fondness for, for as long as I care to have that emotion for a hockey player.

[Cheektorado]

25 minutes ago, Weave said:

This is why all you jamokes bitching about Okposo being on the team, being an anchor, not providing enough value were wrong.  This is the guy we needed 5 of on the team five seasons ago.  He can still play the game at a reduced level, but that’s not his real value.  His real value always was the intangibles he brings.  I don’t know how some of you didn’t see the value in that.  Didn’t see how that was worth an overpayment on a team full of kids.

KO makes my very short list of players I’ll have a fondness for, for as long as I care to have that emotion for a hockey player.

Kyle always pushed hard and gave his best.

I can see that at his age and what he went through health wise he could be a real inspiration for the team.  Especially the young guys.

Can't see how he doesn't wear the C next year.

[Nozlen]

I was wrong about this guy, and I am glad I was. Top Notch effort guy and is showing great leadership skills and paired with my favorite player Girgenson they are a dynamo on the ice and fun to watch.

[Thorner]

2 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Or an indictment of previous leaders like ROR and Jack.

This is interesting. Do you think, being a part of the leadership group himself for a long time, KO has been unable/prevented from providing leadership before now? That the As he has been wearing were mere ceremonial designations? 

[kas23]

Would Jack write a letter like this?

[K-9]

4 minutes ago, kas23 said:

Would Jack write a letter like this?

No, but Pat Brisson would.

[mjd1001]

12 minutes ago, Thorny said:

This is interesting. Do you think, being a part of the leadership group himself for a long time, KO has been unable/prevented from providing leadership before now? That the As he has been wearing were mere ceremonial designations? 

I think when Jack Eichel is on this team and playing...wearing the 'C', being the public face of the franchise, and being the overall 'fan favorite', with the biggest contract on the team.....then Jack Eichel feels he has pull with ownership and management and things go through him. 

A player in that position is the one who wants to be the first one the team talks to when they make a trade for someone. A player like him wants to have a coaching change 'run by him'.  The media wants to talk to that player first.

With Jack out of the picture, there is no 'one player' who does all that...or thinks he deserves all that. So there is a perceived void in leadership now that other players can step up into.  Maybe this isn't the case, but a  player like Okposo might not want to do something like this letter if Jack were still here and captain/face of the franchise because that would be 'stepping on Jacks toes'.

[kas23]

1 minute ago, K-9 said:

No, but Pat Brisson would.

And I forgot. Jack did write a letter to the fans 1-2 months back. It may have been authored by Fish, but Jack was paying him to represent his thoughts and wishes. 

[Thorner]

10 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

I think when Jack Eichel is on this team and playing...wearing the 'C', being the public face of the franchise, and being the overall 'fan favorite', with the biggest contract on the team.....then Jack Eichel feels he has pull with ownership and management and things go through him. 

A player in that position is the one who wants to be the first one the team talks to when they make a trade for someone. A player like him wants to have a coaching change 'run by him'.  The media wants to talk to that player first.

With Jack out of the picture, there is no 'one player' who does all that...or thinks he deserves all that. So there is a perceived void in leadership now that other players can step up into.  Maybe this isn't the case, but a  player like Okposo might not want to do something like this letter if Jack were still here and captain/face of the franchise because that would be 'stepping on Jacks toes'.

There being more of a "void" now that he feels extra comfortable stepping into does make sense. I dunno if any of the bolded bits are true, but if the organization decided to give all that power to Jack, that's a mistake (clearly) and that's on the organization. Not all that surprising though, when the franchise stripped itself to it's bones and threw away 2 seasons to get him. 

Bad plan from the beginning. 

I do agree with PA about the marketing team knocking it out of the park. There was certainly nothing preventing KO, a leader for years, from stepping up before now/writing a letter. I think it's probably PR prompted (did anyone see the image they put out with all the Tweets from fans? There are running a balls-to-the-wall campaign, here), but like Curt mentioned, KO's comments themselves certainly feel genuine.

And if we believe everything he's saying here, I see no reason not to believe what he's said about Jack, and what he's said about Jack has been good. Otherwise, we are picking and choosing.

Anyways, KO is an incredibly likeable dude. 

Edited October 16, 2021 by Thorny

[dudacek]

I don’t buy into the tendency to want to villainize and broad-brush blame Eichel as the cause of all that has been rotten in Pegula-Ville. But the suggestion that his approach/personality have not been part of the solution is fair comment.

Honestly, I rather talk about the present.

There remains many chapters to unfold in this season.

I just want a team that gives me hope and a team I can root for.

This letter helps on both fronts.

Edited October 16, 2021 by dudacek

[jsb]

2 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I don’t buy into the tendency to want to villainize and broad-brush blame Eichel as the cause of all that has been rotten in Pegula-Ville. But the suggestion that his approach/personality have not been part of the solution is fair comment.

Honestly, I rather talk about the present.

There remains many chapters in unfold in this season.

I just want a team that gives me hope and a team I can root for.

This letter helps on both fronts.

Couldn't have said it better. I have to admit the 1st game and the letter has me full in again. My expectations for this year is to be entertained and make me a believer for the future of this franchise. Long season but at this moment I'm in again.

[K-9]

23 minutes ago, kas23 said:

And I forgot. Jack did write a letter to the fans 1-2 months back. It may have been authored by Fish, but Jack was paying him to represent his thoughts and wishes. 

I must have missed that. Are you referring to the John Vogl hatchet piece quoting Fish after KA said the Sabres were in control of the situation? 

[kas23]

6 minutes ago, K-9 said:

I must have missed that. Are you referring to the John Vogl hatchet piece quoting Fish after KA said the Sabres were in control of the situation? 

No, it was the Friday tweet to the public. It’s in here:

https://www.nhl.com/news/sabres-eichel-agents-expected-trade-by-now/c-325885236

 

[K-9]

10 minutes ago, kas23 said:

No, it was the Friday tweet to the public. It’s in here:

https://www.nhl.com/news/sabres-eichel-agents-expected-trade-by-now/c-325885236

 

I can’t find any letter from Eichel in that link, only the July 30 tweet from Vogl quoting Fish. Am I missing something in there?

[klos1963]

I wonder if other teams have to tell their fans to expect them to work hard. You'd think that would be a given.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

I have always really liked KO.

This is fantastic.  I highly doubt the PR dept. put him up to this.  This seems legit Kyle.

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, mjd1001 said:

I think when Jack Eichel is on this team and playing...wearing the 'C', being the public face of the franchise, and being the overall 'fan favorite', with the biggest contract on the team.....then Jack Eichel feels he has pull with ownership and management and things go through him. 

A player in that position is the one who wants to be the first one the team talks to when they make a trade for someone. A player like him wants to have a coaching change 'run by him'.  The media wants to talk to that player first.

With Jack out of the picture, there is no 'one player' who does all that...or thinks he deserves all that. So there is a perceived void in leadership now that other players can step up into.  Maybe this isn't the case, but a  player like Okposo might not want to do something like this letter if Jack were still here and captain/face of the franchise because that would be 'stepping on Jacks toes'.

Okposo is Okposo. He wouldn't let anyone deter him in any way from writing a letter to the fans if he wanted to do it or if he was asked to do it by the organization. And I'm confident that if the organization wanted Okposo to write a letter to the fans that Jack would not have any problem with that. This manufacturing of criticisms of Jack is reaching an absurd level. 

[kas23]

54 minutes ago, K-9 said:

I can’t find any letter from Eichel in that link, only the July 30 tweet from Vogl quoting Fish. Am I missing something in there?

It’s a letter authored by his agent. As someone who is employed to represent Jack, it is a de facto letter from Jack. You think this came out against Jack’s wishes or he disapproved its contents? Do you think a letter released via Twitter is anything but a letter to the fans?

[K-9]

Just now, kas23 said:

It’s a letter authored by his agent. As someone who is employed to represent Jack, it is a de facto letter from Jack. You think this came out against Jack’s wishes or he disapproved its contents? Do you think a letter released via Twitter is anything but a letter to the fans?

Oh, I’m sure Eichel was totally onboard and aware. I misunderstood your original post and thought something came out on Friday. 

[triumph_communes]

Risto Reinhart Eichel core failed. Next. 

[K-9]

1 minute ago, triumph_communes said:

Risto Reinhart Eichel core failed. Next. 

It really is as simple as that when ya get down to it. 

[klos1963]

11 minutes ago, K-9 said:

It really is as simple as that when ya get down to it. 

It's really not at all.  Poor coaching, poor GM's, poor goaltending, bad drafting, bad trades... , our players that performed well were not the problem, the ones that didn't play well were.

[K-9]

16 minutes ago, klos1963 said:

It's really not at all.  Poor coaching, poor GM's, poor goaltending, bad drafting, bad trades... , our players that performed well were not the problem, the ones that didn't play well were.

When it’s time to move on, it’s time to move in. Simple as that. All the other crap just leads up to that time.