This doesn’t come as a surprise, but the Buffalo Sabres announced that their captain Jack Eichel will miss the remainder of the season. He’s out with a herniated disk in his neck. He hasn’t played since March 7th against the New York Islanders.
The Sabres have announced the following update regarding forward Jack Eichel. pic.twitter.com/SlpzHy7sWp
— Sabres PR (@SabresPR) April 14, 2021
The interesting part here is that the Sabres didn’t mention anything about the 24-year-old needing surgery. However, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweeted that he would need surgery.
Expecting an update today on Jack Eichel. Word is BUF captain needs surgery and will get it done soon, so he can begin training in preparation for next season. He’ll miss the remainder of this year.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 14, 2021
We’ll see what happens here in the future, but the good news all around is that he’ll be ready for the start of next season. This injury also may have bought the Sabres at least one more season with him to make run to the playoffs.
Eichel’s absence will allow some of the younger players on the roster to see an increased role over the last 14 games of the season. It’ll be good for the Sabres to evaluate these players and determine what they need to do in the offseason to get back to being a competitive club.