For context, Eichel has a herniated disk in his neck that he wants to fix by having an artificial disk replacement. The Sabres are against their captain having this surgery because it's never been done on any NHL player before. This has caused a lot of tension between the Sabres and Eichel, and has led to the strong possibility that he wants to be traded away from Buffalo.
"I think it was Wednesday, (Aug.) 18, there was a big meeting in Buffalo. The league was there, the players' association was there, Eichel was there, his reps were there -- that was still when he was with Peter Fish -- and the Sabres were obviously there," Friedman said his 31 Thoughts Podcast. "I'm not sure if the doctors were there in person or via Zoom, I don't know that 100 per cent, but I think everybody put their cards on the table. I think the players' association wanted to hear everything first hand and I think the league wanted to hear everything first hand. And basically what I heard was there was no resolution. As a matter of fact, I heard everybody was still pretty dug in."
With the 2021-22 season only six and a half weeks away, it's seeming more and more likely there won't be a solution to this issue in time for Eichel to hit the ice for training camp in mid-September.
Source: Elliotte Friedman - Sportsnet
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YESTERDAY
JUNE 6, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brayden McNabb | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Martinook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Karlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||