So it’s now coming out that the Sabres considered trading Jack Eichel before last season and indicated the timing “wasn’t right”. What has transpired since then clearly shows that they, nor Kevyn Adams have a clue how to run an organization.
Let’s just look at what we know as fact:
1. Jack Eichel is a top ten player in the NHL;
2. Jack got hurt/played hurt last year;
3. He has a neck injury which everyone now involved says needs surgery;
4. On May 10th, Eichel talked about the “disconnect” between him and the Sabres regarding his medical condition and treatment.
5. We are now almost three full months later and there have been no changes in his status.
The crux of the disagreement appears to be over whether Jack should have a cervical fusion (fuse two vertebrae together) or a newer procedure called disk replacement surgery (replace the injured herniated disk with a fake disk). There are benefits and detriments to each. Long term issues with the fusion involve increased risk to disks above and below to degenerate due to added stress resulting from the lack of motion due to the fusion as well as decreased motion in the neck. Disk replacement surgery, while sounding better just doesn’t have long term studies to see just how well these artificial disks handle the stressors over a period of time, much less a hockey career. These are medical issues. My issue is WHY DO THE SABRES CARE?
If the Sabres wanted to get rid of Jack they could have easily agreed to his surgery request back in May. He’d be 90% healed by now and would be on track to start the season with whatever team traded for him. Long term effects of disk replacement surgery would be the concern (if any) of the team that traded for him. The Sabres would have known his status at the trade deadline and would have been able to maximize his value. Instead, we have a player who clearly wants out of an organization that clearly doesn’t want him. Not for nothing but can you really blame him? Over the six years he’s been here they’ve finished last three times. They are out of the playoff race by December 1st every year. Yes he makes a ton of money but he can make that elsewhere in an organization that actually not so fucked up beyond belief. But I digress.
So where does that leave us?
1. Jack is under contract to make $10,000,000.00 this year from the Sabres;
2. No team seems to want to meet Kevyn Adam’s asking price for him;
3. He needs surgery on his neck;
4. any surgery performed today will probably delay his season thus giving less value to whatever team acquires him;
5. If he’s not traded and surgery is not performed he will cost the Sabres $10,000,000.00 this year for a guy who is medically unable to play this year.
Adams bragged the other day that they’d be happy to have Jack in the lineup opening day in an attempt to make other teams actually believe (they aren’t idiots) that the sabres might just keep Jack. What good does that do? Paying someone that kind of money to sit out a season and have the same issue next year? How stupid are these people?
If jack doesn’t do as they request from a medical standpoint what are the Sabres options? They can void his contract (Jack would love nothing better. He would be a Free Agent able to get a new deal from whatever team that wants him. The Sabres would get nothing for him iother than out from under a big contract. The team he signs with would give up nothing more. Can you imaging a scenario where the Sabres did this and Jack went to Boston for no compensation? Remember, as a player going to a new team you’d want that team to be as strong as possible. Jack doesn’t want to MAXIMIZE his trade value because that would cause whatever team that traded for him to give up players and not be as good as they would be if they gave up less. Jack wants out. He wants to go to a team that actually has a clue what they are doing. Kevyn Adams thinks that he has leverage in this situation. what leverage is that? to get little or nothing for a superstar player?
As soon as this issue arose in May the Sabres should have let Jack get whatever surgery he wanted, let him heal and trade a healthy Eichel for good value. Instead, Adams overvalued his hand and is now stuck trying to trade Jack AFTER teams have signed free agents and signed their own guys. The market shrunk drastically on July 27th when Free Agency opened up. It’s getting smaller every day. Just like the Sabres chances of winning.