Jack Eichel fails physical, stripped of his captaincy
John Vogl: Sabre GM said this morning that Eichel is no longer the captain of the team.
“I feel the captain is the heartbeat of your team. I felt that we needed to address that.”
Lance Lysowski: Eichel didn’t pass his physical yesterday and he’s not willing to have the fusion surgery.
Lance Lysowski: Adams: “Jack’s one of the best players in the world, which is why I said getting him healthy, playing, is what we want.”
John Vogl: Adams added that they have complete trust in their doctors.
TSN: Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adam and Pat Brisson, Jack Eichel’s agent, continue to have ongoing discussions according to Darren Dreger. Eichel will start the season on the LTIR. The Sabres still believe fusion surgery is a better option than artificial disc replacement surgery.
“It’s possible that Eichel gets traded and has the disc replacement surgery under the blessing of a new club, but there’s no guarantee and it doesn’t seem like anything is real close on that front.”
Bill Hoppe of the Buffalo Hockey Beat: The Buffalo Sabres are not backing away from wanting a big trade package for Jack Eichel.
The CBA says that players need to follow team doctors recommendations. Having surgery and playing some games would help generate interest from other teams. Teams may not want to offer up a lot for an injured player with a herniated disc in his neck.
Maple Leafs and Morgan Rielly‘s camp to talk
TSN: Pierre LeBrun said there have been some preliminary talks between the Toronto Maple Leafs and pending UFA defenseman Morgan Rielly. It’s believed the sides will talk during training camp but a deal may not come quickly as the defenseman UFA market prices was high set this offseason.
“Dougie Hamilton, Seth Jones, Zach Werenski, and Darnell Nurse and all got deals this past off-season for $9 million-plus. And so that’s pretty dDifficult for the Leafs to get into at this point pending other moves when it comes to next year. So, to me, I think the dialogue will be open, it will continue, but I suspect this will drag on potentially into June.”
Morgan Rielly: Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said that he’d love to remain with the Leafs beyond this season but adds: “But there is a business aspect of it.”