Trade holdup as Sabres haven’t granted teams permission to examine Eichel’s medical records

Teams are inquiring about his medical condition…

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
Trade holdup as Sabres haven’t granted teams permission to examine Eichel’s medical records
Twitter / NHL

This is the summer of Jack Eichel and all of the trade rumours ever since the captain admitted that he would mull over his future with the organization this summer. He was especially upset with the Buffalo Sabres’ demands not to undergo surgery on the herniated disc in his neck. Eichel went on to say that there’s a “disconnect” between him and the Sabres organization regarding a neck injury that he suffered and that his focus is on getting healthy for next season “wherever that may be.”

Ever since, Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has held talks with teams inquiring on Eichel’s availability with a recent report from TSN’s Pierre LeBrun stating that the Sabres will be expecting to demand a 2021 first-round pick as part of their return for Eichel, putting the timeline for a deal ahead of the July 23 NHL Draft.

On Monday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman mentioned that the Sabres were probably awaiting to name their head coach, which they did earlier in Tuesday as Don Granato became their new full-time head coach. 

And so we believe talks will pick up though Larry Brooks of The New York Post mentioned over the weekend that the Rangers have had preliminary talks with the Sabres and would like to look into Eichel’s medical condition. The Blue Shirts might only be performing due diligence, but this has revealed that, for now, the Sabres haven’t granted permission for clubs to examine Eichel’s medical records. 

We bet they won’t have a choice to do so if trade talks intensify.

Eichel is under contract through 2025-26 with a $10-million cap hit and played his last game of the campaign for the league-worst Sabres on March 7 before being ruled out for the remainder due to his neck injury.

Earlier this month, LeBrun reported that six teams make sense to acquire Eichel now that talks are getting more serious and intense, and listed the Minnesota Wild, along with the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers among the many clubs that could make sense as a landing spot. 

Last week, insider Micheal Russo for The Athletic revealed that the Wild has had initial trade discussions with the Sabres about the star forward. 

Talks are indeed going to pick up despite this trade holdup! The Sabres will need to reveal what’s truly going on with their captain in order to move him.