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Jack Eichel failed his physical exam at Buffalo Sabers training camp and was stripped of his captain’s job as the team and their franchise player remain deadlocked on surgical options.
Eichel, 24, has been away since March with a herniated disc in his neck. The star center and his team struggled to find the right way to deal with the injury, and he demanded a trade out of Buffalo. He will be placed on the injured reserve to start the season.
“Unfortunately, Jack did not pass his physical exam yesterday,” Sabers general manager Kevyn Adams said Thursday. “At this time, Jack is not willing to go ahead with the fusion surgery suggested by our doctors. So we will continue to look for solutions.”
Eichel is in the fourth year of an eight-year, $ 80 million contract. This is his last season before the entry into force of a total immobility clause next summer.
Following Eichel’s injury diagnosis, the Sabers opted for non-surgical rehabilitation, before their medical experts suggested an anterior cervical discectomy with fusion to ease Eichel’s discomfort. Eichel wanted disc replacement surgery, with an artificial disc placed in his neck. It promises shorter rehabilitation time, the potential for less loss of movement and much less potential for the need for future surgeries. But this has never been done on an NHL player before, when the Sabers’ preferred method is more common.
“We have absolute confidence in our doctors. They are the medical experts. They have been consistent from day one,” Adams said. “They have never deviated from what they think is the next step, and if something else was done they would be uncomfortable with it.”
Adams has been involved in trade talks regarding Eichel throughout the offseason, and those talks are continuing. The second-year general manager said there was no timeline for an Eichel exchange.
“If we have the opportunity to [improve our team], and we think that’s the right thing for the franchise, so we will. But if there had been a solution over the summer and we thought it made sense, we would have done it. This is obviously not the case, ”Adams said.
He wouldn’t say if the teams asked Eichel for surgery before making a trade for him.
“The teams want clarity. During the summer there was not a great deal of clarity. But we have clarity now,” he said. “It played a role in that. [Eichel] is an elite player and franchise at his peak. We have to move forward as a franchise, but there are some things we cannot compromise on that we believe in. “
Adams wouldn’t say Eichel played his last game as a member of the Sabers, but he was stripped of the captain position he had held since 2018.
“I spoke to Jack two days ago, spoke to the team yesterday and brought up the issue, Jack Eichel is no longer the captain of the Buffalo Sabers. From our perspective, the captain is your heartbeat of your team, and we’re in a situation where we thought we had to make that decision, ”said Adams, who said the team will not start the season with a captain.
Adams said he has the support of Sabers owners Terry and Kim Pegula on how the team is handling Eichel’s situation. He is also engaged in daily discussions with Pat Brisson, whom Eichel hired as his agent.
“We will do it the right way. We will stick to our plan. We are not going to give in or back down because of the pressure or because people say ‘you have to do it.’ We are going to do what we do. think we’re fair, ”Adams said. “My job is to take all the information and do what we think is right for the organization.”
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