According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, this weekend marked the end of the 12-week recuperation period agreed upon by the team and Jack Eichel. In the next days, the two parties will meet to establish what the next steps are for everyone.
There have been plenty of rumours about Eichel being traded in the offseason. The issue for the Sabres will be the requested return, which will likely be sky-high and out of reach for most teams around the league. That said, the relationship between Eichel and Buffalo is certainly a rocky one right now. TSN's Darren Dreger stated earlier this week that he would not be surprised to find out that Eichel has filed a grievance with the NHL Players' Association over the situation involving the surgery he wanted to have.
Eichel turned some heads at the end of the season when he revealed he wanted to have surgery on a disc issue with his neck. However, the Sabres were not content to let that happen as it is a rare procedure that no professional athlete has returned from yet. The surgery is so rare that it has never been performed on an NHL player. According to the current collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHLPA, team doctors get the final say on any medical procedures involving players.
Should Eichel remain with the Buffalo Sabres next season, there's no telling whether he would be giving it his all given the situation. If there's a team willing to give up a king's ransom to get him out of Buffalo, the medical issue could be a major stumbling block. This week's meeting between the two sides should certainly be an interesting one.
