this whole "Jack stripped of the sabres captaincy" has been blown way out of proportion, exactly like you say, what else did people expect at this point. I feel like it's the same people who laugh at the team a few times during the season but then don't really know what's going on in the meantime.
100%. I was gonna touch on that point more in the video but just forgot. It’s like when that guy from TSN said the Sabres should be humiliated because Owen Power chose to go back to college. I don’t think I’ve heard a single Sabres fan say they wanted Power to play for us this year. It’s frustrating when people who don’t follow the Sabres hear about the Sabres in the news and instantly assume that the Sabres are doing the wrong thing without knowing the circumstances.
I've had fusion surgery on my neck C5 / C6 and I suspect the reason the Sabres are pushing for it is because it's a known quantity. Mine was 20 years ago and although I'm no elite athlete, my recovery time was pretty quick. The big downside is that you now have a weak spot, so I'm getting prolapses (disc hernias) below the surgical site. I understand that the replacement option is pretty new and hasn't been done on an NHLr yet, nor on a lot of elite athletes. As you pointed out, it's his body and he needs to do not only what gets him back on the ice, but what also reduces his risk when he's 50. It's a tricky one alright.
@@midimusicforever Gronkowski, twice ... although I believe they were partials. Now if an NFL athlete can get it and survive (thrive actually) just fine, I'm sure an NHLer can as well.
Disc replacement has been done for 20 years and on top athlets last 15 years on on high impact athlets. Rhe succses rate is higher then on fushion, but its never been done on an nhl player. But its done on NFL players and AHL players with grate results. So....and you dont have the problem you have with a fushion as you are experiencing new hernia above or below.
It seems to me that fusion would be better for the Sabres short term, and worse for Jack long term. They don't give a shit if it means serious problems in his 40s and 50s, they just want him tip top now, while they are paying him. Its pretty shitty honestly. If I was Eichel, I'd tell the Sabres to fuck their hat too.
If the Sabres go through another rebuild within the next 5 years after this one, I think the fans are gonna finally jump ship. One of the most loyal fanbases, but everyone has their limits.
Blame Tim Murray for throwing a hissy fit when Edmonton won the McDavid lottery. Murray complained he had to settle for Eichel, and it's been a disaster since then. I'm sure Eichel wasn't happy about that from the start.
Well he wasn’t wrong. Edmonton got its FOURTH overall number 1 in a six year stretch. They had NO business getting McDavid. This whole lottery thing is garbage.
McDaniel 105 pts in 56 games, Eichel 2 goals in 20 something games. All Buffalo fans were pissed about this. McDavid is the best player in the world hands down
@@MrEGuy-mi4qk Everyone would like to have McDavid, but when Tim Murray cries about it, he makes it seem like he doesn't want Eichel. Eichel may not be as good as McDavid, but he's pretty good when healthy.
@@Waders27 Sorry but the game of hockey is a team game so McDavid can keep his 14M per season and not play on my team since I can spend that $14m on two players that are going to do more overall in the team game.
From what I've read about the two different surgeries, the artificial disc surgery gives you faster recovery (typically a month sooner than fusion surgery) AND the more importantly, artificial disc surgery allows most or all of the neck mobility to be retained. The negative about artificial disc surgery is that it is relatively new (it's only been around since the 90's while fusion has been around since the 50's). The problem as I see it (and I'm sure as Jack sees it) is that fusion surgery will limit the mobility of his neck even more that it is now with the herniated disc. That's not a good thing for an elite hockey player or for a 25 year old young man to have to put up with for the rest of his life. Add to that the relatively high risk of adjacent disks also going bad later on because of increased stress from the weird angles being put on them from the two fused vertebrae.
It is actually the other way around BTW. Fusion is 6-8wk recovery and ADS is 8-12wks. Also limited neck motion only happens if more then one disc is being fused together while ADS will see full range if not improved range in neck mobility. Without knowing the full extent of the injury it is hard to say which is best for the player and which is best for the individual; which is truly how I see the debate. From a team standpoint taking the fusion surgery makes more sense due to the fact that it is proven to work and short period of recovery. From the player standpoint ADS makes more sense due to long term health and motion of the neck. Edit* Not to mention he could also have to go under hip surgery if they decided fusion as they could take a bone graph from his hip; which has been explain to be very painful. They could also us other types of bone graph as well though.
@@gaikokuhito5574 Two things: 1) I think you need to look at the study in Lancet which clearly states that the recovery time is for artificial disc surgery is on average 1 month earlier than fusion on the cervical spine (neck). 2) Most upscale fusion surgeries don't use bone grafts anymore. They use surgical plastic or metal pieces that allow the bone to fuse around them. Thus not requiring the harvesting of bone tissue from elsewhere in the body.
I think getting lost in all this is the young guy having a significant injury in his spine. Handled so very weirdly, but still wish the best for the man.
I'm 55 and in March of this year I had a neck fusion surgery (anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion) procedure known as ACDF from discs C-4 through C-7. The difference between my surgery and artificial disk replacement (ADR) as discussed with me by my surgeon, was that my affected disks were breaking down and bits of bone (osteophytes) were "floating" in my spinal cord space. One of those osteophytes entered my spinal cord and caused pain, numbness, tingling and loss of motion in my left arm and hand and probably should have caused me at least paralysis and possibly death per my surgeon. The pro vs. con was that by "fusion" of the affected disc's would limit my motion and turning ability of my neck but after six months of rehab I am about 85% of mobility and recovery of symptoms, but will never reach 100%. The ADR surgery would remove any osteophytes and the disks themselves, replaced with a substitute disk(s), BUT those disks have no fusion support included (plates and screws holding the bones/disks surrounding spinal cord in place). So if he were to get hit or jarred, then the surgical site could be compromised and the same dangers of paralysis and death could occur to him on the ice. That's my understanding of the differences in surgeries - but honestly I would never try to play professional sports with either surgery because there are still times my neck feels weak and has small shots of pain happen even doing nothing more strenuous than sleeping!
@Geo me cards - It's tough to answer simply yes or no to your question, Yes I get pain, but what I would equate more to a soreness pain, not a sharp stabbing pain in my neck.. What the surgeon explained is after five to six weeks of primary healing where my resting/sleeping was done upright in a recliner chair with a 24 hour cervical collar on my neck to then transitioning to sleeping in my bed without a cervical collar is harder than the surgery. So imagine all your muscles that supported your neck while sleeping upright suddenly are trying to support your ten pound melon laying down . You factor in that your neck at first feels like jelly and unstable and I was half convinced I would do something stupid and break my neck in my sleep rolling over or something (didn't happen of course) but as you do your exercises in rehab, you slowly build up strength and those shots of pain occur less frequently, you have good and bad days - on testing days and you've gained 10 lbs. of hand strength in 30 days (Yess!!) - or conversely I still cant roll my left wrist outwards to a flat position like my right hand even after doing six months of exercises on that very task.. (Arrgh) That's where I find myself after six months of rehab. I DO want to stress that my condition is my own - If you feel like learning more about the ACDF results, type ACDF surgery into RU-vid search box and there is a ton of stories telling peoples response and recovery to the surgery and more. Thanks for the questions - I hope my story helps.
My understanding is part of signing his 10 million dollar contract is the Sabres have the right to veto medical procedures. I'd imagine there is also an insurance policy in effect on that contract that has some medical fine print that could void it under certain circumstances. It's sad, but this apparently is what happens when you sign for the big money. You give up some of your control over your own body. It's insane.
That’s fine. Jack can have medical autonomy……but if the Sabres organization is opposed, that should constitute a breach of contract and Jack should be financially liable to the Sabres.
"There's no way that the Sabres..." Yes there is. That sentence always ends the same way with this team. All joking aside, you are probably right, and you did a good job taking a neutral stance here. Jack Eichel is asking for what's best for himself, while the Sabres are asking for what's best for the team. For a rebuilding team? They want as little risk as possible, especially when it comes to their young superstar and they don't really want to be good. I'm not well-versed on the situation with Jack and I am even less well-versed on medicine on the whole, but the team is probably asking him to get a safer surgery with a longer recovery time while Jack wants to get back on the ice right now so he's probably asking for a riskier surgery with a shorter recovery.
Being as neutral as possible it’s basically eichel wants a surgery that’s never been done in a contact sport except mma and the team wants him to go with the more well known surgery
Yes and no. If you want him to play for your team again, your probably want him to get the fusion surgery because it gives you a known quantity and a path towards being competitive. And this makes sense because, like Melody said, his moments of brilliance on the ice have been the only reason fans have shown excitement over the last few seasons. Conversely if the team wants to trade him, knows that he will not get the spinal fusion, and knows that other teams will underbid on all offers until Jack gets a surgery and shows progression towards being healthy again: why not just let him get the disc replacement? Get him on the path to recovery, get into a bargaining position early on, and make the move. The real story feels like Eichel told them this is the surgery he wants, Buffalo was reluctant for the reasons Melody mentioned (and they want to keep him) and tried to call his bluff. Now they're over a barrel and going to get even less value / have to eat cap space in order to move him... I understand why it's a "good for you, Kev" kind of moment, but big-picture this is really bad for the Sabres.
Contractually it is not his body. For the years specified on the contract it is the team's. Just like if a person signs their enlistment contract to join the military. During their enlistment, if they do something off duty that injures them and interferes with their duties they get charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The charge that they receive? Destruction of government property. The property they destroyed? Themself.
@@andrewzy Nope that's incorrect, it's his body either way. Yes that is correct he is under contract with the Sabers but its still not their body. If he wants to keep his contract valid then he cannot do what ever surgery he wants he has to get an OK from the team to go ahead. Jack doesn't want to void his contract as he wants to still play hockey and get paid thus he's not just doing what ever he wishes to his body. But your statement is still not correct. He can totally go get what ever surgery he wants as it's his body BUT that would void his contract and have a ton of other legal repercussions.
@@paytonmacdonald1409 yeah its his body and he can choose what he wants to do but that doesnt mean the team signs off on it which thry havent signed off on thr surgery he wants . yeah i know all about it thanks bud.
He should have had the surgery back in June. Now there’s no GM that’s going to touch him until after he’s had the surgery & has rehabilitated. Unfortunate situation all around.
Maurice your input from the grave is pretty cool. I don't think the Sabres are preventing Jack from playing but realistically they have bottomed out like no team has I the past really? They really are in no rush to trade or replace this guy at this point, I'm assuming insurance is paying a good portion of that fat contract? Unless someone really steps up and says we're willing to gamble on him returning to his former performance level I don't see much happening?
@@steveosullivan5262 My point exactly. Unless they okay surgery, his value is shot. However, if they can keep the acrimony and pettiness to a minimum they will get more value once the surgery is completed. With the way the Sabres have handled this, they will not get decent offers even after the surgery. Why? Because 31 GMs know that Jack will never play another game in a Sabres sweater, they hold all the power. This neck issue and the ongoing fallout is akin to the 9 goal game at the Forum. Look at the value Montreal got for arguably one of the best goalies ever.
It's not that simple, I know you guys think they should just let him go to a doctor like doctor Nick off the Simpsons but the doctors and specialists think it's a bad idea. Buffalo doesn't want him getting the surgery because doctors say it's a bad idea. He's not thinking clearly.
@@joer8854 he went to multiple doctors before making the decision. The “doctors” who disagree are hired by the NHL…. He went to the top sports surgeons in the country and they told him what they thought.
@@DoBap_ if you saw the draft lottery when they lost the tantrum thrown was pretty epic, they made it very clear after an obvious attempt at tanking they were unhappy, almost as unhappy as the look on McDavid's face when it was announced he was going to the place first overall picks go to have their careers die
@@joshb6470 Buffalo isn’t much better when it comes to first overall picks though. They’re currently destroying Eichel’s long term health, and Dahlin who was the most hyped defensive prospect since Hedman, has completely stalled out.
Great video, you talked about both sides of the story, and made arguements and counter arguements for both. Its a complicated issue, and we probably don't know the whole story. No sides gained anything from this, nevermind gained, they both lost.
regardless of what their actual motivation is, the optics of it is the Sabres are tanking a #2 draft pick's career on purpose and refusing to let him get a new team. I agree there has to be a ton of stuff going on behind the scenes, and they probably aren't the villain they are being portrayed as - but it looks terrible for the casual fan and the not-Sabres fans who only vaguely follow the story. more people know Jack Eichel's name than Kevyn Adams, I feel like this is just gonna harm the org more in the long term, via attracting fans and potential players, than doing a maybe shitty trade and just being done with it
This is the most unsurprising news coming out of Buffalo. I agree that Buffalo should just let him get his preferred surgery. If it's successful, then great, he can get healthy and be traded at a higher value. And if it fails, then Eichel and his camp are the ones who look like morons and Buffalo looks like the smarter party.
Waiting until, like, June before letting him get the surgery he wanted I could've understood. Waiting until July is pushing it but you know, maybe you want to be sure. Making him go through a physical in *SEPTEMBER* before even considering letting him get the surgery he wants and *still* expecting a big trade offer for him is absolute lunacy.
This is insane and I think the Sabers are making huge mistakes in handling this. I'm sorry but this shows that Buffalo is a joke and is managed terribly. It's beyond obvious he isn't returning to the team. What does Buffalo have to gain by doing all this? Principle? They should have let him get surgery and traded him. His value just keeps sinking. I'm not saying Eichel is innocent but it is what it is and Buffalo has no awareness about the current state of this
the whole NMC lowering his trade value is the stupidest thing I've ever heard lol. If Eichel starts deying trades, you tell him fine you are sitting and not getting traded. Watch how pissed off that makes him. People need to start waking up. We hold all the power for the next 5 years. We held onto him this long. You think we won't down the road?? lol nope. Wake up people
No way!! No way!!! Ballsy but necessary. That wishy washy attitude of his.. it’s sad cause he WAS SUCH a talent. You guys don’t realize how great a healthy motivated Eichel is.. I’m talking top 5 in the league, no cap. That’s probably why Adams is holding out.. he wants top 5 return, period. And so would I.
In fairness Bat I don't think we have heard of a decent deal that Buffalo has turned down? You gotta know the other GMs sense blood in the water and I'm sure they are low balling him big time.
My take on this is that if Eichel wants to go against the Sabers doctors (and therefor against what is in his contract), if he is so confident in the replacement surgery, then he should just end the stalemate by just getting the surgery on his own without permission of the Sabres. What I don't like is that Jack wants his guaranteed money, but wants to defy the Sabres doctors, expects a trade while he is injured and wants the Sabres to take on the risk if something were to go wrong with the replacement surgery. That's ridiculous. Really good video.
Eichel can’t do that, really. He’s be going against his contract, the CBA and the players association. You can’t play in the NHL if you aren’t represented by the Union. And if you go against the Union, you aren’t represented by them. It would end in a huge legal battle that would get Eichel off the ice for a long time. And I think, it’s possible Eichel never plays in the NHL again, due to going into Business for himself
@@danevertt3210 Yes, exactly. That's why this is really about more than Eichels health. He needs to decide what he wants to do. Either follow the team doctors, follow his contract, the CBA etc etc, or just decide that his health beliefs are more important and get the surgery himself. That would put it all back on the Sabres, the union and the NHL. He actually can do it, but he stands to lose a lot. His actions are saying that he is being protective over his 50 million dollar contract that hes owed in the next 5 years.
I understand what you are saying, Dan. Hopefully there will be a solution somewhere down the road. I just don't think that the Sabres are getting a fair shake in the national media. They are protecting their interests in an 80 million dollar player they have and don't want to make a mistake with him that they'll regret down the road.
I don’t know for a hockey player, but as someone with disc problems in my lower back if I got the discs fused it be the end of me doing a lot of stuff. I’d be on Eichel’s side from a life choice because I’ve heard about the artificial disc and sounds way better than fusing discs and causing problems for him as he gets older. Granted can see the Sabres side of it not being done on a hockey player so I agree on this being a tough situation.
The truth is that if he wants the replacement, he should retire and get it. That's the only way it will happen because the doctors have all said that him getting the replacement and playing is a bad idea.
"Adam's was reported to be carrying safety scissors screaming 'where's the fucking patch!' we'll keep you posted as we make shit up! Back to you Melody. "
You’re awesome! Glad I found the channel. The Eichel thing sucks and it’s got to be rough if you’re a Sabres fan. Like, they should get on with it! Whichever way, make a decision and quit wasting the guys career. We had a similar thing with McDavid when he wrecked his knee in the last game, 2 years ago I think. Anyway, he had the decision of getting surgery and missing the first couple months of the season. Or try to rehab it over the summer, with the possibility that he wouldn’t be able to do it and then have surgery and miss most of the season. And the public didn’t know anything about it. He kept it on the down low all summer and worked his ass off to get it done. He came back fully recovered. It looked like a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Connor is a quiet guy but he’s got a ton of character.
I am no doctor but I worked as a neurosurgical operating room nurse for 31 years. All I can say is this: Artificial disc replacement surgery is gaining popularity among neurosurgeons. I can't comment about orthopaedic surgeons. Ultimately, it's his body; he can do, or not do, whatever he wants.
100% agree, the whole situation is beyond stupid. The whole "we are in control of the situation" thing is stupid. Yay, you are in control of a dumpser fire of a situation. Yay! Both sides agree that Eichel needs neck surgery but disagree on the procedure. And kiss a trade goodbye, no team is going to touch Eichel until his medical situation is figured out. I really don't see what the big deal is with letting him have the surgery he wants. The reasoning, "it has not been performed on an NHL'er", does not really fly with me. Medical advancements are always happening. What is the "worst case scenario" for the Sabres here? #1 - Eichel gets the surgery he wants and it works, he can play and be productive. He rebounds and you can trade him for a decent return. #2 - Eichel gets the surgery he wants and it fails, he goes on the IR or retires from the game, maybe he ends up getting the fusion surgery, returns to play and be productive, and you can trade him for a decent return. #3 - The situation stays like it is and everyone involved loses. Eichel loses some of his prime elite playing time without a trade while sitting on the IR indefinitely and Buffalo gets nothing but distraction. It seems to me the current situation #3 is the "worst case scenario".
A fusion surgery would be a career killer, and the Sabres management are (shockingly) incompetent. Fusing two of his disks together would greatly decrease the movement in his neck, and to suggest it for an athlete would is idiotic.
@@danevertt3210 completely different game, with a completely different set of skills and range of motion. As a hockey player, you don't want to limit said range of motion by fusing your discs together.
@@DoBap_ wait…….you think a quarterback needs less range of motion then a hockey player. Have you ever thrown a football?? Your under the impression it’s just all arm strength, no scrambling needed. Come on, that’s a silly argument. Not to mention, Manning had two disks; which means he has four fused together. What about all the other hockey players who have had this surgery???
@@danevertt3210 I used to play football, and I'm aware of the mechanisms of throwing one. I doubt you've ever played hockey if you believe limiting your range of motion won't prove to be problematic, and yes, a hockey player does require greater range of motion. Also, name me a player who had the surgery who was still Top 6 material afterwards?
@@DoBap_ I’d like you too tell me how different, and why, is it to play quarterback in football compared to hockey. You act like it’s such a crazy thought that Peyton Manning could have two slipped disk fused, and still play at a competitive level…..but hockey players can’t?? From what I gather, over a 100 NHL players have had this surgery completed with an 85% success rate. Btw….Zach Parisi in 2016 Daniel Alfredsonn Jason Spezza Mario Lemieux had the exact same injury In 1990 and had surgery……look what he did Peyton Manning, Tiger woods, Gronk…. How many NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB players have had the disk replacement??? Hey…..how many national athletes have had the disk replacement. Loser
My dad, who’s a doctor, said it is possible that the disc surgery limits the mobility of the neck, which would explain why the Sabres do not want him to get it. He also said, however, that he can’t necessarily be 100% certain about it since he doesn’t deal with spinal injuries.
The issue with trading Eichel is that nobody is willing to make a serious offer as long as the injury remains up in the air. By not resolving the surgery dispute, Adams has tanked Eichel's trade value. Of course he's not getting high-value offers for a player with an unresolved spinal injury. The only way Eichel was getting traded for full value was if he got his surgery, healed up, and demonstrated how well he could still play. Sitting on IR to start the season means Adams will have to accept lesser value, or leave Eichel on the bench forever. There is no good outcome for the Sabres here.
Sabres finished last with: Hall-Eichel-Reinhart Montour-Ristolainen Ullmark What will it be this year? I guess we are talking 1975-76 Washington and Kansas City level
You are totally right. The Sabres medical staff said it was a bad idea, the specialist said it's a bad idea. I get the pain, i've been there, but he's not thinking clearly. The idea that they have to trade Eichel for nothing is also nonsense. What's going to happen if they don't? They will be bad? The Sabres need value back if they are going to trade him.
As per usual I agree with everything you said 100%. Sad frustrating situation for everybody especially us fans, but hopefully we slowly starting to move in a better direction. While we all want him to be traded I’m also glad to see that Kevyn Adams has been able to stand his ground with the Eichel trade.
True. However, it has been done on MMA athletes who have been able to resume their careers. One would be hard-pressed to state that hockey is harder on the body than MMA. The big issue, I think, for the team doctors is that there is a clear recovery protocol for fusion surgery, but not for the disc replacement.
@@DoBap_ It likely wouldn’t end his career. However, there is literally a zero percent chance of getting back to a pre-injury level of play for Jack, and a roughly 20% chance that he would need additional surgery in 10-15 years.
@@DoBap_ omg….Peyton Manning had two slipped disks and had the fusion surgery. He then went on to have the greatest single season by a quarterback in NFL
I think the #1 issue is he is tired of playing for a losing franchise. The Sabres have failed to surround Eichel with a team that could reach the playoffs and he has given up on the Sabres. He wants out ASAP. I am very certain that if the Sabres were a true playoff team, like Vegas or Colorado, he would be treating this situation much differently.
I think the scary thing is that the trade market is shrinking now, can't imagine anyone reaches out without a major injury. Not something I'd want to bet on.
The problem is teams want Jack Eichel but they don't want the uncertainty of not knowing if he will be healthy after the neck surgery! Nobody is giving up premium assests for Eichel until his surgery and recovery is complete and he is healthy.
It's a classless move to remove a captain c from a guy who's hurt. Trade him and then give the captain c away sure. That makes sense. But doing it before hand just makes you look even worse as a franchise. And that's pretty hard to do at this point. As best as I can tell there's only one reason why the Sabres doctors don't want him to have the replacement. Because it hasn't been done on a hockey player before. They want the safe bet. The issue is that the safe bet is a surgery that limits mobility and in a large portion of people dose nothing to relieve the pain. It essentially just prevents things from getting worse. Jack wants a surgery that while technically untested in the NHL has been done to MMA fighters who continued to fight effectively. And from all reports when the surgery is successful it essentially restores you perfectly. Complete mobility, no pain. Slightly more risk but a much higher reward. And now here we are. Jack still hasn't had surgery and camps started. If he had surgery today he'd miss what the first two months of the season? His value keeps dropping every day. Every day he isn't having surgery is another day he's not going to be able to play in the regular season for a team that is interested. I've never seen a situation handled so poorly by an orginization. Honestly I'm surprise Jack didn't just pull a Byfuglien. Just get the surgery done on your own. Whats the worst that happens? The Sabres release you for breach of contract. So you get to sign a deal with another less terrible franchise? Sign a 1 year deal for say 6. Go out prove you are still the elite talent everyone says you are and sign another crazy big money deal again the year after.
@@danevertt3210 He said he was going to comment on it more but to my understanding never did. So we don't know if it was even related. Could have been a neck issue that had nothing to do with the replacement. And it was 3 years after the initial surgery. And hasn't had an issue with the neck in the couple of years sinse the most recent surgery.
I'm not a Sabres fan (Habs fan) but if my team did the same thing to our franchise player (we never get those in MTL) ,i'd be absolutely pissed at the organization.
Honest to God, I swear the only way the Sabres decisions make sense here is if you assume that they wanted to trade him to make the surgery someone else's problem. It would explain why they waited 5 months to even consider his surgery reques, it would explain why they've spent this off season trying to trade him for what he's worth when he's healthy when he is far from ready to get on the ice, and it would explain why the Sabre's doctors wanted him to rehab the injury over the off-season if he wasn't going to get the fusion surgery. What it doesn't explain is why they waited until *TRAINING CAMP* to realise this plan wasn't gonna pay-off
You hit the nail on the head Mel. If he was playing with a top team, It would be a whole different story ! He never wanted to play for Buffalo and this is a very convenient way for him to leave......he has always been part of the problem and not the solution for this team. O'Reily knew Eichel was a premadonna and back then O'Reilly was the bad guy ....I knew all along Eichel was all for himself.
I'm with you, I understand both the Sabres and Jack on this, but I'm just ready to get him to another team. The whole situation sucks no matter what so just rip the band-aid off.
Could be an option but a very expensive one due to the fact that he fore goes his salary while retired. So for a surgery that has an recovery of 6-12wks depending on the surgery would you fore go $10m per season in Salary? If I am also correct the sabres still would hold his rights until his actual contract runs it course forcing Eichel to have to play in a different league and not be eligible to return to the NHL until 26-27 season. So unlikely to happen at this point as I would like sit at home and collect my $10M while the team figures it out.
The whole Eichel thing is getting exhausting. I agree that there is a lot of stuff that is not known to the public. I was also thinking all along as well that there as to be a reason the Team doctors are against the surgery. I enjoyed watching Jack play when he was on his game and would love to see him in the olympics. But I don't thing it is going to happen unless someone bends and I'm beginning to wonder if he understands that
At this point, the only reason I can see why the Sabres aren’t letting jack get the disc replacement surgery is to not be seen capitulating/caving. It’s beyond stupid, and it’s going to ruin their chances of getting a killer return for him Bc this is either going to drag on until his nmc kicks in and he demands a trade to the bruins, or it’ll happen this season and the sabres will have to eat a massive amount of his contract for the next 4 years
Hey Mel, feels like a no-win scenario to me. I hadn't realised Eichel has an nmc kicking in, but that could explain why the trade keeps dragging & the only offers thus far are long-shots-The teams that think they have a _real_ chance at him would want to stall until then to put the Sabres in-a-bind & drive down the price of a deal. Even the team that gets him might not get a win if he can't play much, or as well as he has previously. I'm glad to see you coming to terms with it all though. Your cover-songs help me have a laugh when the stakes get too high elsewhere in life (and boy are they for me rn). The venn-diagram of musical-performance & ice-hockey is a precious one! 🌈❤
Jack Eichel is a less than point per game player with zero playoff experience entering his seventh NHL season with serious injury concerns (who by certain accounts, has even run coaches out of town) and has already made $30M on his current contract. By the time Mario Lemieux was at the same stage in his career as Eichel is now, he already had 800 pts and two Stanley Cups. The Penguins franchise was in such bad shape when he was drafted, he didn't even want to put on their jersey. But he did. He didn't bitch and moan about who he was forced to play with. He turned them into stars. Did you ever hear of Rob Brown again after 88-89? Yet at that same juncture in his career, Mario had only made about $6.5M (which, adjusted for inflation, would have been about 13.7M today). He took less pay so they could surround him with better players, and when it looked like the Pens were in danger of going broke, he used those very earnings to pony up for that as well and became an owner--while he was still a player--to keep the team in Pittsburgh. He went on to win gold for his country, let Crosby stay at his place to keep him on the straight and narrow, and went on to win a few more cups as owner. Everything this man did was not just to the benefit of a team he originally didn't even want to play for, but to the game itself. So you'll have to excuse my lack of sympathy for "generational talent" Mr. Eichel. The Sabres are better off without him, and the league will be better when viewership and support is less for the off-ice drama and political subplots and more about actual hockey.
You gave the most nuanced view of this.. I have seen. I'm Canadian and we are just hockey inundated, but as many takes I've seen on Eichel, I don't recall one like yours.
Robin Lehner has come out and said, from his experience, Sabres' doctors forced him to work out on an injury that was immediately exasperated by working out. They might just have bad doctors? Maybe they don't even have bad doctors, maybe the owners expect to hear something from their doctors and when they dont...
The doctor that dealt with Lehner was fired a while ago. I know nothing about who they have now. Besides, that doctor pushed Lehner into an aggressive treatment, while these new Sabres doctors are doing the exact opposite with Eichel and are trying to be conservative. That's why I just wish we could get more information on why their doctors are this against it, because it's been hard to know who to side with.
Any Work related injury, allows for compensation, with no decrease in earnings outside of any compensatory reduction percent! I feel New Jersey May be a team, and Owner that May be able to afford a discretional trade contract!
The team doctors 🥼 decisions have turned this into a giant mess. This all should have been done and over with before trading camp. Can’t stand the GM saying that they are doing this for jack the person and not for the best of the franchise!
Are you working for the Sabres? I’m sorry the whole thing is Buffalo management problem. They could got things done months ago. They traded away players for picks and have no real goalies. Offers are good asking price too high for injured player. So you should had fixed him then trade him. Remember they wanted McDavid from the start and got struck with Eichel
The one thing Sabres could do is if they let Eichel get the Disc Hernias Surgery, they would have suspended him for a month without pay and they really don't want that so they won't let him for that perspective.
We don't need a Capt. right now! Giving it to one of the younger guys could be bad for them and other guys really don't deserve it! Hopefully Cozens in a year or two is ready for that type of pressure! He is super mature already and showed he is a team player last yr. Go Sabres and Go Bills!!!!
Sabres fans just want this to be OVER. Unfortunately it now looks like it might drag out for years. If I were in Eichel's shoes, I'd prefer the artificial disk, because if it proves to have disadvantages after several years, it could be fixed with an upgrade. What can never be undone is fusion, which sometimes also has serious side effects.
By the way the Sabres had two games in hand on Montreal when the NHL decided to end the season two years ago. Buffalo should have been in the playoffs!
@@king-of-gamers417 They would have been playing the Pens with Crosby and Malkin injured. I was actually interested in seeing how Eichel plays in the playoffs. Oh well
I think someone needs to plan an intervention soon for Mel, to get her off the Sabrecodone. Otherwise she's liable to be rocking back and forth in a straight jacket before long.
Throughout this whole saga, I kept thinking: how taxing and insane must Melody feel over this? Hehe. 🤔😕 To be fair to the other GM's, I can’t really blame them for not meeting the high price that Buffalo is calling for, since as you pointed out Eichel does currently have a depreciated value. Yes, he could become a superstar again, but right now there isn’t any idea as to when he would be able to play or how well, so I imagine that the other teams are quite wary to assume the risk of forking over so many assets with Eichel's future so uncertain, especially if they'd have to pay for the surgery themselves. And yet I also see the points that you and your team are making too, and like you I have no idea how this will be resolved before the end. Either way I agree that this whole stand-off is bad for pretty much everyone involved, and I also look forward to not hearing about it anymore! Hehe. 😫
It's a really weird situation it feels like since the injury no progress has been made? Is he going to sit until his contract expires and then he can choose whatever he wants? If he had a year to go maybe but he is signed super long term? I just don't get it at all? Taking the "C" makes sense as his days with Sabres I think are clearly over and regardless of who is correct you do not want your Captain talking about your team like he has been doing. Weird and I agree Mel stand strong until you get what you feel is a decent deal for your team, otherwise stand pat and continue to rebuild the roster.
Well that’s his home, and probably where he’s getting a second opinion. And TBH I’d probably trust a doctor at Mass Gen or one of the other famous Boston hospitals than the Sabers team doc
jeff oneil said the surgery has never been done on a hockey player before apparently only 1 doctors is siding with eichel, you get some cap space if im buffalo i keep him on the ltir for as long i can
