Eichel's agents respond to Sabres with scathing statement.

Eichel's agents are not messing around.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
Eichel's agents respond to Sabres with scathing statement.
Mike Wulf/CSM/Zuma

If there was any sliver of hope left in the hearts and minds of any Buffalo Sabres fans out there that they could possibly see the return of their captain come the start of the 2021 - 2022 National Hockey League regular season, the agents representing Sabres star forward Jack Eichel may have just snuffed it out entirely.

After statements were made this week by Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams in regards to the Eichel trade, specifically that the team is in "control of the situation" and that the Sabres "don't feel any pressure" to get a trade done, the agents that represent Eichel dropped what can only be described as a bombshell statement on Friday night. In the statement Eichel's representatives slam the Buffalo Sabres for how the situation has been handled thus far indicating that they had received a promise that their client would have been traded prior to the start of free agency. 

Additionally Eichel's agents effectively accused the Sabres of damaging his hockey career by preventing him from having the corrective surgery that he feels he needs and potentially putting his ability to start the 2021 - 2022 season on time in jeopardy.

In response to the Sabres’ statement regarding being in control of the process, Jack Eichel under contract, and other comments, we offer the following response:

The process is not working. As previously stated, we fully anticipated a trade by the start of the NHL free agency period. After the agreed upon and prescribed period for the conservative rehabilitation lapsed in early June 2021, it was determined by the Sabres medical staff that a surgical procedure was required. The recommendation by Jack’s independent neurosurgeon, other spine specialists consulted, and the surgery Jack feels most comfortable having in order to correct a herniated disc in his neck is to proceed with Artificial Disc Replacement surgery. A further point of concern is that our camp was initially under the impression that the Sabres specialist was in agreement with the Artificial Disc Replacement surgery until that was no longer the case.

What is being left out of the discussion is that Jack would be able to play in the NHL for the start of the reason pending medical clearance if he were allowed to have the surgery he desires even as of this date. Repeated requests have been made to the Sabres since early June to no avail. This process is stopping Jack from playing in the NHL and it is not working.

Peter Fish & Peter Donatelli

This is not a clear cut process for either side but I can certainly empathize with Eichel who feels he should have the right to make his own choices about what surgical procedures he does or does not undergo. On the other side of the coin however is the fact that no active player in the National Hockey League has ever had this surgery and, when you're paying a player the kind of money the Sabres are paying Eichel, it's not hard to see why they might have serious concerns.

Something tells me this one is still far from over.

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