Sabres head coach Don Granato has empathy for Eichel; shares what will happen at 1C

For the benefit of those who were able to sleep in on a Thursday and who may have missed the news - the Buffalo Sabres have stripped center Jack Eichel of his captaincy after the pivot was unable to pass a physical, which was expected due to his neck injury.

While the move was expected, due to Eichel and his camp being adamant that it is time to move on, it still must be an emotional day for the 24-year-old, who had served as the team's captain since the 2018-19 season.

I'm sure that there are those who have no empathy for Eichel, who will likely have a new home sooner than later, but Sabres head coach Don Granato is not one of them.

Granato spoke with the media on Thursday, touching on the whole situation surrounding Eichel and his injury, offering up his sincere support for the former Sabres captain.

"This is tough for Jack. What I think is lost in this is this is a guy that wants to play hockey that's going through an injury. I have a lot of compassion for that. ... I just want to see him get healthy and eventually play."

On what comes next for the Sabres, that was a bit more unclear. Eichel's departure leaves a glaring hole up the middle - one that won't be easy to fill.

When Granato was asked what the plan is going forward for the 1C spot in Buffalo, he didn't exactly have an answer that pointed to one specific player. He believes that the Sabres will take more of a committee approach and hope that someone emerges as a strong candidate for that role.

"That's a great question. Keep asking that one because I don't have an answer for you. I don't even think it's fair. It could be different each day. ... I don't think we have a definitive guy that is so far ahead of everyone."

This is certainly going to be an intriguing season for the Sabres, who have a few high-quality prospects in the pipeline and are likely to add to the stable with another high pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

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