It is a secret to exactly nobody that the Buffalo Sabres had their sights set on the playoffs before the 2016-17 season began.
Players discussed it. The coaches discussed it. And when Jack Eichel went down with an injury right before the regular season started, GM Tim Murray sounded pretty committed to doing whatever he could to keep his team competitive:
Jack is not a replaceable player, so we have to try this internally. We’ll try some guys here and see how it goes. If it’s clearly not going to work, then I’ll have to get on the phone and make some calls.