BUFFALO – (Staff and wire service report) – The Jack Eichel era at Boston University ended with a Hobey Baker Award and his rights being selected by the Buffalo Sabres with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Now, Eichel’s career in Buffalo is over because of an eight-month feud which came to a conclusion when the Sabres traded their former captain and face of the franchise to the Vegas Golden Knights.
The trade ends a stalemate between Eichel and Buffalo over how to repair his herniated disk, which has sidelined him since March. The dispute revolved around the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement giving teams the final say over the treatment of injuries.
Until Eichel was Knighted, surely Boston Bruins, Boston U. and Chelmsford, Massachusetts ice hockey fans hoped for a return to Boston to skate for the Boston Bruins but the $10m a year salary combined with a bad back left the Sabres with a limited number of NHL takers, especially until the results of his back surgery and rehabilitation are known.
Though Eichel remains sidelined, the Golden Knights lived up to their Vegas name and took a gamble to address their biggest long-term need, obtaining a top-notch scorer and first-line -line center, by trading forward Alex Tuch, rookie center Peyton Krebs and two draft picks to the Sabres. Eichel is expected to have the disk replacement surgery he preferred, though the recovery timetable means he’ll likely miss most, if not all, of the remainder of the season.