Jack Eichel is finally free.
To say this has been a long time coming for Jack Eichel would be an understatement.
On Thursday, the Buffalo Sabres and Eichel ended their strained relationship after months locked in a stalemate via a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights. There are, of course, hockey ramifications to consider given that this is the biggest trade the NHL has seen this season, but I want to step back and focus on Eichel himself here.
Back in March, Eichel sustained a herniated disc in his neck in a game against the New York Islanders, an injury which knocked him out for the rest of the 2021-22 season. At the time, it was expected Eichel would be ready for Sabres training camp come September should he get the required surgery. That surgery never happened, and still has yet to happen, nearly eight months since Eichel’s original injury, all because the Sabres and their former captain disagreed on what kind of surgery to get.
Tensions were already rising between Eichel and the Sabres back in 2020 when the then-captain of the team told the media he was “fed up” and “frustrated” with all of the losing in Buffalo. Now add Eichel’s unavoidable injury into the mix, alongside the Sabres refusing to let him get the surgery he wanted, and you have quite the mess on your hands.
It’s fair to say that from top to bottom, the Sabres completely mishandled Eichel’s injury. While the procedure Eichel wanted to get, artificial disc replacement surgery, has never been performed on a NHL player before, it has been performed on other athletes. The Sabres, on the other hand, wanted to opt for a more traditional surgery — disk fusion — which carries the risk of having to go under the knife again in the future.
In the end, the Sabres held all the cards thanks to the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, which states a player’s team has final say on medical procedures. And for eight long months, Eichel had to deal with a herniated disc, which impacted his day-to-day life and sidelined him from hockey.
After everything he’s put up with, it’s no wonder Eichel wanted out of Buffalo.
Vegas had been the long-rumored landing spot for Eichel since the summer, so it’s no real surprise to see him land with the Golden Knights at the end of the day. Though Vegas will have to wait between three to five months to finally get Eichel out on the ice and playing, this is a great move for all sides. The Golden Knights get to add the star center they’ve been looking for, while the Sabres finally can cut their losses and start anew with a new group of young players.
Most of all, Eichel also gets a fresh start to revitalize his NHL career. For the majority of his time in the league, Eichel has been playing second fiddle to Connor McDavid, who went before him at No. 1 overall in 2015 to the Edmonton Oilers. Eichel has always been playing in McDavid’s shadow, and even though Edmonton has problems of their own, the No. 1 overall pick has been raking in the awards and the accolades since.
With Vegas, however, Eichel has the opportunity to start again. We’ve seen glimpses of greatness from Eichel in the past, from his 82-point season in 2018-19 to hitting 36 goals in 68 games in the COVID-shortened 2019-20 year. Eichel won’t be McDavid, and that’s okay! There’s no one like McDavid playing hockey right now.
And yet, Eichel now finally has the chance to chart his own course with the Golden Knights. Eichel might even be able to play for the U.S. Olympic team come February if he recovers from his surgery fast enough! With Vegas, Eichel finally is getting the fresh start he’s deserved and I, for one, cannot wait to see what he does with it.
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