As expected, Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel did not pass his physical and has been placed on injured reserve, the team announced Thursday morning. GM Kevyn Adams made the official announcement during his first media availability of the season.
Also to no surprise, Eichel has also been stripped of the captaincy.
“The captain is the heartbeat of your team,” Adams said. “I felt that we needed to address that.”
Adams noted that the team will not name a captain for the 2021-22 season, instead allowing the group to “learn and grow.”
Although the team said they don’t want Eichel to be a distraction, it’s hard to think of the situation as anything but a distraction when more than half of Adams’ media availability focused on Jack.
Despite that, there were a few other tidbits of information that came out of Adams’ first availability of the season.
First and foremost, the Buffalo Sabres are 100% vaccinated against COVID-19, Adams said. The Sabres join a slew of other NHL teams in that marker, including division rivals in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Boston.
Forward Jack Quinn is considered day-to-day. Adams said he is “not injured, we’re just being careful,” which seems to follow the line of thinking that Seth Appert mentioned during last weekend’s Prospects Challenge. Quinn appeared in the Sabres’ Friday night game but was held out of Saturday’s game for what Appert called ‘load management.’
Meanwhile, Mattias Samuelsson is now considered roughly week-to-week. Samuelsson blocked a shot late in a Prospects Challenge game. Appert said they expected him to be okay, but it’s clearly a bit more complicated than they initially let on.
Brandon Biro, who missed the Prospects Challenge entirely, is considered day-to-day.
The Sabres hit the ice for the first time this season as a team on Thursday. On-ice sessions at KeyBank Center are closed to the public, while on-ice sessions at LECOM HarborCenter are open to the public.
Per Sabres PR, here is the team’s upcoming training camp schedule:
Thursday, Sept. 23
Gold Group: 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Blue Group: 1 to 2:30 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 24*
Blue Group: 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Gold Group: 1 to 2:30 p.m.
*Both practices at LECOM Harborcenter
Saturday, Sept. 25
Day Off
Sunday, Sept. 26
Blue vs. Gold scrimmage: 6 p.m.
No morning skate this day
Monday, Sept. 27
Blue Group: 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Gold Group: 1 to 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 28
Morning Skate: 10 to 10:30 a.m.
Non-Game Group: 12 to 1 p.m.
Sabres at Blue Jackets: 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 29
Blue Group: 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Gold Group: 2:30 to 4 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 30
Morning Skate: 10 to 10:30 a.m.
Non-Game Group: 12 to 1 p.m.
Sabres at Red Wings: 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 1
Morning Skate: 10 to 10:30 a.m.
Non-Game Group: 12 to 1 p.m.
Penguins at Sabres: 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 2*
Gold Group: 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Blue Group: 1 to 2:30 p.m.
*Both practices at LECOM Harborcenter
Sunday, Oct. 3
Day Off
Monday, Oct. 4
Morning Skate: 10 to 10:30 a.m.
Non-Game Group: 12 to 1 p.m.
Blue Jackets at Sabres: 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 5
Morning Skate: 10 to 10:30 a.m.
Non-Game Group: 12 to 1 p.m.
Sabres at Penguins: 7 p.m.