WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
October Edition
Rasmus Dahlin feels good about Buffalo’s future. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin sees something special in the Sabres’ latest rebuild. The roster upheaval created an opportunity for their young core players to transform the team.
Jake McCabe, Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Ristolainen and Linus Ullmark – four pieces of the old nucleus – are gone. Jack Eichel will likely be the next to leave.
So Dahlin, Dylan Cozens, Casey Mittelstadt and some other Sabres in their early 20s now form the ... Read the full article
Jack Eichel wants to be traded. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – So much for getting any clarity on Jack Eichel’s uncertain future.
Sure, Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams relayed some new information Thursday as training camp opened. The injured star, as expected, failed his physical. Not surprisingly, he was also stripped of his captaincy.
But nearly seven months after Eichel injured his neck, there appears to be no resolution on the horizon.
Eichel, 24, still refuses to have the fusion surgery the team’s doctors ... Read the full article
Jack Eichel wants to have artificial disc replacement surgery. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres center Jack Eichel was stripped of his captaincy Tuesday and later failed his training camp physical, general manager Kevyn Adams said this morning.
Eichel, who has a herniated disc in his neck, still refuses to have the fusion surgery the team’s doctors have recommended, Adams said.
“We had an easy solution,” Adams said of the fusion surgery. “We would’ve acted on it.”
What happens next is unclear. Eichel, 24, wants to have ... Read the full article
Jack Eichel’s status for the season is uncertain. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
When Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams addresses the media this morning, questions about injured captain Jack Eichel’s uncertain status will dominate the season-opening news conference.
Did Eichel pass his training camp physical Wednesday? Will the ultra-talented center have surgery to repair his herniated disc? Does he have a future in Buffalo?
Throughout the offseason, the Sabres remained tight-lipped about Eichel’s neck injury and any plans they have to grant his wish and trade him. But ... Read the full article
Jack Eichel played only 21 games last season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
OK, so maybe Jack Eichel hasn’t played his last game for the Buffalo Sabres. Perhaps later this season, if the captain undergoes neck surgery, he could wear blue and gold again.
That thought, of course, seemed preposterous not long ago. Eichel wants to be traded. The relationship between the Sabres and their frustrated star seems to have suffered irreparable damage over his desire to have artificial disc replacement surgery, a procedure the team won’t ... Read the full article
Henri Jokiharju has played two seasons in Buffalo. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
The Buffalo Sabres on Thursday locked up two of their three restricted free agents, re-signing center Casey Mittelstadt and defenseman Henri Jokiharju to identical three-year, $7.5 million contracts.
Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is now the Sabres’ only restricted free agent. Training camp is scheduled to begin later this month.
The Mittelstadt and Jokiharju deals, which carry $2.5 million salary cap hits, could look like bargains in the near future.
Casey Mittelstadt started unlocking his potential late last season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Early last season, Casey Mittelstadt toiled on the taxi squad and struggled to crack the Buffalo Sabres’ lineup as a winger. By the end of the year, however, he had morphed into the team’s No. 2 center.
The Sabres on Thursday rewarded Mittelstadt’s breakout stretch under new coach Don Granato, re-signing him to a three-year, $7.5 million contract.
Mittelstadt, 22, is the first key restricted free agent the Sabres have re-signed. Defensemen Rasmus ... Read the full article
Jack Eichel wants Buffalo to trade him. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Injured Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel has fired his longtime agent, Peter Fish, and hired Pat Brisson to represent him, according to reports.
The news, first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliott Friedman, comes less than a month before NHL training camps are scheduled to open. Right now, the Sabres and Eichel, who wants to be traded, are at a standstill over how to treat the herniated disc in his neck.
Eichel wants to undergo artificial disc ... Read the full article
Mark Pysyk, shown here with Rochester, began his NHL career in Buffalo. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
Mark Pysyk said the move shocked him. He had played defense his entire career, and the Florida Panthers suddenly wanted to utilize him as a forward.
But Pysyk had become a spare part in the 2019-20 season under new coach Joel Quenneville. Shifting to wing beat the alternative of remaining a healthy scratch.
So Pysyk embraced the change, often skating on the fourth line while moving back to defense as a penalty killer.
“It was ... Read the full article
Jack Eichel is frustrated with the Sabres. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Undergoing artificial disc replacement surgery is the best short- and long-term option to repair the herniated disc in Jack Eichel’s neck, according to a Colorado-based neurosurgeon who has examined the Buffalo Sabres captain.
Dr. Chad Prusmack told the “31 Thoughts” podcast that Eichel, who wants to undergo disc replacement surgery, could play six to 12 weeks after having the procedure.
The Sabres don’t want Eichel to undergo disc replacement surgery, which Prusmack would perform. ... Read the full article