While playing with the Buffalo Sabres in April of 2018, Ryan O'Reilly famously said he had lost his love of the game multiple times throughout the season. He added the Sabres seemed to have become "ok with losing" and he was fed up with it. Not long after, he was traded to the St. Louis Blues, and the rest is history as he would go on to win a Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.
Nathan Beaulieu, who now plays with the Winnipeg Jets. was a teammate of O'Rielly's in Buffalo, and in an new interview with The Athletic, he's backing up many of the things his former teammate said about the organization.
"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," Beaulieu told The Athletic while discussing what it was like playing in Buffalo while the team struggled year after year.
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.”
Beaulieu, like O'Rielly, wanted out of Buffalo. He had fallen out of favour with head coach Phil Housley and was spending many games as a healthy scratch. He made his feelings known to Sabres GM Jason Botterill and was dealt to the Jets at the trade deadline last season for a sixth round draft pick. At the end of the season, he signed a one-year, $1 million deal with Winnipeg, and he says he's very happy that he did. Jets head coach Paul Maurice seems to be happy with it as well.
“Some guys just fit. (He fits) the style of game that we play – we want our defencemen to take ice instead of giving ice and he's getting back to the quickness he had,” said Maurice, referring to Beaulieu missing the first 15 games of this season with an injury. “When he came in last year, he was quick and he was a good player for us. He plays hard and is willing to stick up for his teammates.”
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