Report: Eichel officially done for the season

According to a report from Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the Buffalo Sabres are expected to announce today that superstar captain Jack Eichel will undergo surgery to repair what's believed to be a neck, collarbone or shoulder injury. As a result, he'll miss the rest of the 2020-21 season but Friedman reports that he should be ready to go for the 2021-22 season.

Check it out:

UPDATE: Sabres officially confirm the news.

This leads to the obvious question, "Has Eichel played his last game for he Sabres?" 

Trade rumors were swirling around Eichel in the days and weeks leading up to his injury and there's a belief out there that the superstar captain wants out of Buffalo. And... I mean... can you blame him?

I wish nothing but the best for the Sabres, but Eichel has now wasted six seasons with the franchise and they're nowhere closer to icing a competitive team than they were when they selected Eichel 2nd overall back in 2015. 

This is a team that's drafted in the top 10 the past eight seasons and is on an NHL record decade long playoff drought. Not only have they drafted Eichel 2nd overall, but they picked up Sam Reinhart 2nd overall the year prior and Rasmus Dahlin 1st overall in 2018. They've gone through coach after coach, they signed Taylor Hall to a big ticket deal... and they're still the one of the worst teams in the league. Don't be surprised if Eichel is shipped out this summer and the team goes into full on "tear it down" rebuild mode for another few years.