BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jack Eichel‘s representatives released a statement Friday night saying “the process is not working,” deepening the rift between the Buffalo Sabres captain and the team.
In an email to The Associated Press, agents Peter Fish and Peter Donatelli contradicted general manager Kevyn Adams in saying they were under the impression a Sabres specialist was in agreement in backing Eichel’s desires to have artificial disk replacement surgery to repair a herniated disk that sidelined the player for the final two months of the season.
The agents also wrote they fully anticipated Eichel would be traded before the start of the NHL’s free agency period, which opened on Wednesday.
They noted Eichel would be in a position to be ready for the start of the regular season should he be cleared to have surgery, and added: “Repeated requests have been made to the Sabres since early June to no avail. This process is stopping Jack from playing in the NHL and it is not working.”
The Sabres declined to respond.
The agents’ statement comes a day after Adams discussed Eichel’s status during a news conference to update the state of the team following the start of free agency.
Adams said there was no change from the Sabres medical staff in recommending against Eichel having a procedure which has never been performed on an NHL player. He then added that the Sabres are in control of Eichel’s future because he remains under contract and he doesn’t feel any pressure to complete a trade.
“If there’s a deal out there that we feel is the right thing for the Buffalo Sabres, that we feel will help us improve … we’d be open to it,” Adams said. “We’re not in position where we feel that we’re just going to do something to do it. That doesn’t make any sense.”
The feud between the Sabres and Eichel continues to escalate since the captain revealed in May what he called “a disconnect” with the team over how to treat the injury. He said the disagreement was leading him to question in his future with the team.
Eichel is the face of the franchise and has five years left on an eight-year, $80 million contract.
Adams has not ruled out trading Eichel since the middle of March and has spent the past month openly acknowledging he is shopping the player.