"There was a picture of him in Colorado when they lost and he just takes it all on. It’s the same thing in Buffalo," Brian O'Reilly said. "If the team loses, he takes it personally. I always say this: Give me a group of athletes that completely hates losing. I’d rather have those athletes than athletes that expect they’re going to win because they’re more talented."

"It was crazy how quick things happen," Ryan O'Reilly said. "I get traded. I'm talking to Doug. I'm familiar with a bunch of guys on the team. Looking at the roster, I was so amped up. I said, 'Let's go win a Cup.' For that to come true ... It was there that we could do it but gosh it's exhausting. I'm exhausted."

Sabres fans seem exhausted about the reviews on the O'Reilly trade but the indisputable fact is that it currently rates as one of the worst deals in NHL history. It puts huge pressure on Thompson, on whichever player is taken No. 31 next week in Vancouver (or acquired in a trade for that pick). And it is currently job-defining in a very negative way for Botterill.

O'Reilly never wanted to be traded when he said he had lost his passion for the game. He told TSN that last year at the World Championships, saying he was looking forward to playing with Rasmus Dahlin. His father reiterated the point on the Garden ice Wednesday night.