NHL Pacific

Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel underwent disk replacement surgery on Friday and is expected to make a full recovery, the team announced.

The Golden Knights said the surgery was successful and they will provide additional details on Eichel's timetable to return "when appropriate."

ESPN's Greg Wyshynski reported Thursday that Eichel was expected to have surgery at the Rocky Mountain Spine Clinic and would remain in Denver for three weeks for observation before doing most of his rehab in Vegas.

Wyshynski adds that Eichel's expected recovery timeline is three months, which would mean he could return as soon as mid-February. 

Eichel, who was traded to Vegas from the Buffalo Sabres last week, thanked the Golden Knights on Monday for allowing him to undergo the procedure that caused a rift between himself and his former team. The Sabres wanted Eichel to undergo neck fusion surgery, while the star forward wanted the disk replacement procedure. 

The 25-year-old added that he hopes the NHL and NHLPA will reconsider their regulations on allowing teams to have full control over a player's medical treatment, per Sportsnet.

"I think my situation shined light on maybe some things that could be changed, and I hope that they are in the future," Eichel said. "I don't necessarily agree with the team having the full say in what to do with medical treatment. I think it should be a collaboration."

Eichel was introduced as a Golden Knight for the first time before Tuesday's game against the Seattle Kraken at T-Mobile Arena. He is expected to serve as the team's top center when he returns from injury. 

The Boston University product spent six seasons with the Sabres after being drafted second overall in 2015. However, he has not played since March 7 because of his neck injury. 

Eichel signed an eight-year, $80 million contract extension with Buffalo before the 2017-18 season. He won't become a free agent until after the 2025-26 campaign.  

Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray resigned Wednesday and will enter an alcohol treatment program amid an investigation into alleged misconduct.

"I want to apologize to anyone adversely affected by my behavior," Murray said in a statement. "I vow to make changes to my life, starting with enrolling in a treatment program. I want to thank Henry and Susan Samueli, and Michael Schulman, as working for them has been one of the highlights of my career. As I step away from the Ducks, I will focus my attention on where it should be: improving my life for the betterment of my family and friends."

Jeff Solomon will serve as the club's interim general manager. The Ducks placed Murray on leave Tuesday after hiring an independent firm to investigate allegations of misconduct.

The NHL released a statement saying it supports Murray's decision to resign and "there is no excuse and there is no place" for his behavior, which was reported to the league's hotline. Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli said they would "not stand for abuse of any kind" in their organization.

Murray had been with the team since 2005.

No details were provided on the allegations. Greg Wyshynski of ESPN reported Murray has been accused of verbal abuse against staff and cultivating an "abusive culture."

There was no timetable for the investigation's completion.

The NHL is currently dealing with the fallout of an independent investigation that found the Chicago Blackhawks mishandled sexual assault allegations made by former forward Kyle Beach against former video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010.

The Blackhawks were fined $2 million in the aftermath of the investigation, and president Stan Bowman and director of hockey administration Al MacIsaac announced their resignations. Florida Panthers coach Joel Quenneville, who was the coach of the Blackhawks during the 2009-10 season, also announced his resignation.

The Anaheim Ducks placed general manager Bob Murray on administrative leave as the team investigates allegations of improper conduct.

"We recently became aware of accusations of improper professional conduct against Bob Murray," the team said Tuesday in a statement. "After internal review, we enlisted Shephard Mullin to perform an independent investigation. Upon recommendation from their initial findings, we have decided to place Bob on administrative leave pending final results. In the interim, Vice President of Hockey Operations and Assistant General Manager Jeff Solomon will assume the role of Interim General Manager. We will have no further comment until the investigation is complete."

No details on the allegations were given.

The NHL is currently enveloped in controversy after an independent investigation found that the Chicago Blackhawks mishandled former player Kyle Beach's sexual assault allegations against former video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010.

The NHL fined the Blackhawks $2 million, and president Stan Bowman and director of hockey administration Al MacIsaac both resigned. The fallout also included the resignation of Florida Panthers coach Joel Quenneville, who was the coach of the Blackhawks during the 2009-10 season.

Bowman, MacIsaac and Quenneville were all part of a meeting in 2010 to discuss the allegations, after which nothing was done for three weeks.

Murray has been with the Ducks organization since 2005. He has been the team's general manager since 2008.

It's nothing personal. It's just business.

The Buffalo Sabres have been trying to peddle that narrative all summer with regard to star center Jack Eichel. The player who was supposed to get them over the rebuilding hump languished on bad Buffalo teams for six seasons, with the final being shortened not just by the COVID-19 pandemic but also a herniated disk in his neck.

The Sabres wanted him to have a surgery standard for NHL players, a disk fusion. Eichel and his representatives sought other opinions and decided on a different course, an artificial disk replacement surgery.

The NHL's collective bargaining agreement gives the team the authority to make the decision for the player, yet Buffalo allowed the situation devolved into an ugly spectacle, which is why it's difficult to believe that this stalemate was not, in fact, personal.

If it wasn't personal, then why are the Vegas Golden Knights, who acquired him Thursday, allowing him to have artificial disk replacement surgery? Why did the Sabres strip him of his captaincy? Why did this drag into the start of the 2021-22 season?

Buffalo might have been understandably hesitant about allowing the most important player in the lineup to have a procedure that has never been performed on an active NHL player before, but the two sides were never going to come to any sort of agreement. 

The Golden Knights pushed in all their chips to acquire the center, sending injured forward Alex Tuch (shoulder), 2019 first-round draft pick Peyton Krebs and conditional draft picks in 2022 and 2023 to the Sabres for the game-breaking center and a 2023 third-round pick.

"Why wouldn't his people want what's best for him?" Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said in a video press conference following the trade announcement. "None of us in this room have the level of expertise that would be required for an opinion. I defer to the people that he's entrusted himself and his health to, to make that decision and will obviously have a hand in next steps, rehabilitation, return to play, you know, those types of things.

"But the decision of the surgery is one that we respectfully defer to Jack and his representatives."

McCrimmon acknowledged this is a new procedure for the NHL, but it's not a new surgery for athletes in contact sports. Dr. Chad Prusmack on Elliotte Friedman's 31 Thoughts podcast said Eichel could be in line to play within six to 12 weeks after having surgery.

It's a procedure that mixed martial arts fighters and rugby players have had. McCrimmon, in making a business decision to send a key member of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final team and a top prospect to Buffalo, took a more personal approach to Eichel.

Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams, in his own video conference, had some empty platitudes about caring for Eichel as a person, but that stands in stark contrast to how the organization has handled Eichel's health over the past six months.

The winner in this is Eichel himself. Not because he's going to a winning team—although that is a check in the victory column as well—but because he gets to have his preferred procedure and get rid of the pain he has endured since early March when the injury occurred in a game against the New York Rangers.

"Vegas baby, Vegas," he tweeted to his 28,000 followers after the deal.

This ends a very bitter, very public dispute between a player who once signified hope for a beleaguered Buffalo franchise and the organization that drafted him with the second pick in 2015. The Sabres will continue their rebuild and do so with a top-six winger in Tuch and a burgeoning playmaking center in Krebs, Eichel's replacement up the middle.

The Sabres weren't willing to budge on what they wanted in return, and Adams said retaining some of Eichel's $10 million salary was a non-starter given the length of the pact (Eichel is under contract through 2025-26). He didn't see cap space as something he could weaponize. Adams wanted picks, prospects and an established NHL player.

"What I can tell you is, we got to a point where this was the offer that we felt was the strongest that we had up to this date, and we felt very good about it," Adams said. "We worked extremely hard for months and months. And we were not going to compromise on what we felt we needed as a return. This was a really important decision for us. So however long it was going to take, it was going to take."

Now the attention turns to Vegas, a team with Stanley Cup aspirations in a tenuous spot. Putting Eichel on a line between Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty might give the Golden Knights one of the best lines in the NHL. No offense to the Perfection Line in Boston, but David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron would have some competition if this line comes together.

However, Stone and Pacioretty are also on long-term injured reserve with lower-body injuries. The timeline for Eichel is somewhat unknown. McCrimmon said he is still unsure of when Eichel might be ready to play again, with an optimistic estimate of three to four months and a conservative estimate of four to five.

McCrimmon said Eichel has been training on the ice with no contact, so post-surgery he could be cleared to get back on the ice in six to eight weeks with no contact and able to skate with contact around week 12.

"It's really challenging to give you a time frame because it's never been done in this sport," McCrimmon said. "I'm told that Jack has been able to be quite active in terms of training while he's injured, even being on the ice. It's contact that he would not be cleared to endure.

"I keep thinking four to five months, three to four months. We don't know. We really don't know, and I'm not trying to suggest that we do know, but that might be the best guess I can give you right now."

The Golden Knights have to get to the playoffs without their top players. So far, that looks like it will be a struggle. They're 4-5-0 to open the season and second-to-last in the Pacific Division.

While Vegas is confident Eichel will return to full form, McCrimmon acknowledged this put the team in a tough position against the cap and that some of these injured players might not be what they once were.

"It's an ongoing dance that capologists around the National Hockey League have to be adept at," he said. "As we speak, we've got in excess of $30 million that's either on long-term injury or eligible to be on long-term injury. That takes any immediate pressure off of our salary cap.

"You do have to ask yourself what happens if we return to full health, and yet sometimes you never return to full health."

If the Golden Knights do not, in fact, return to full health, then the fall could be hard. They have traded all four of the players they've selected in the first round. They have made big-money acquisitions, such as signing Alex Pietrangelo. And while this gives them one of the best teams in the NHL on paper, the farm system that was built from the ground up has been decimated.

McCrimmon put Eichel in the same category as Pietrangelo, a player Vegas signed for his Stanley Cup-caliber leadership. Eichel has never participated in a playoff game but is regarded as one of the league's elite centers. So if this works, it will be worth it.

"We weren't in the market elsewhere for centers. This was interest that was solely determined by the quality of the player that was available," McCrimmon said. "I believe if you look at Stanley Cup champions, an elite center is certainly a big, big part of that."

As with all things Las Vegas, it isn't personal—it's a gamble.

Jack Eichel is on the move to the Vegas Golden Knights, but he won't see the ice for several months because of surgery on his herniated disk.

Per TSN's Darren Dreger, Eichel is expected to have disk replacement surgery "very soon," with the hope being that he can return to the ice in four months.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported early Thursday morning that the Buffalo Sabres were trading Eichel to the Golden Knights.

According to Dreger, the full deal, pending the trade call with the NHL, is Eichel and a 2023 third-round draft pick to Vegas for Peyton Krebs, Alex Tuch, a 2022 first-round pick and a 2023 third-rounder.

Eichel and the Sabres have been at odds for several months about the type of surgical procedure he should undergo.

Dr. Chad J. Prusmack, Eichel's personal doctor, told Sportsnet's 31 Thoughts podcast in July that artificial disk replacement surgery was best way to proceed for the forward's short- and long-term health.

Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News noted that type of procedure has never been done on an NHL player and that the Sabres were pushing for the more common anterior cervical discectomy with fusion surgery.

Friedman reported in October that Eichel was considering filing a grievance through the NHL Players' Association in an attempt to force a resolution to the situation.

Eichel’s agents, Peter Fish and Peter Donatelli, issued a statement over the summer announcing that Eichel had formally requested a trade out of Buffalo.

"As previously stated, we fully anticipated a trade by the start of the NHL free-agency period,” the statement read. "After the agreed-upon and prescribed period for conservative rehabilitation lapsed in early June 2021, it was determined by the Sabres medical staff that a surgical process was required."

Around the same time, Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams told reporters the team didn't "feel any pressure" to make a trade just for the sake of it.

Eichel has spent his entire career with the Sabres since being drafted No. 2 overall in 2015. The 25-year-old still has five years, including the 2021-22 season, remaining on his eight-year, $80 million contract.

Because of the herniated disk, Eichel only played in 21 games last season. He has 355 points in 375 NHL games over six seasons.

A four-month recovery period would put Eichel on track to return in March. The regular season is scheduled to conclude April 29.   

The Buffalo Sabres officially completed a blockbuster trade Thursday to send star center Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights for a package headlined by winger Alex Tuch, prospect Peyton Krebs and a first-round pick in the 2022 NHL draft.

TSN's Darren Dreger initially reported details of the deal:

Eichel will undergo his preferred artificial disk replacement surgery in the near future and his new team is "hopeful" he'll be back on the ice in four months, per Dreger.

Tuch is also on injured reserve after offseason shoulder surgery.

Eichel became the face of the franchise when the Sabres selected him with the second overall pick of the 2015 NHL draft.

His arrival marked the expected end of Buffalo's race to the bottom of the standings, a two-year journey to win the "McEichel sweepstakes"—the nickname given to the not-so-secret widespread tanking in an effort to land either Eichel or Connor McDavid, who were viewed as generational prospects.

The 25-year-old Boston University product lived up to his end of the bargain. He recorded 355 points (139 goals and 216 assists) in 375 games across six seasons in Buffalo, establishing himself as one of the NHL's most dynamic offensive weapons with high-end speed, great vision and a lethal shot.

Yet despite multiple coaching changes and a variety of roster moves made by a few general managers, the Sabres were never able to find the right lineup mix around the Massachusetts native, who'd also expressed frustration about how the front office handled his season-ending neck injury.

"I've been a bit upset about the ways things have been handled since I've been hurt," Eichel said. "I'd be lying to say that things have moved smoothly since my injury. There's been a bit of a disconnect between myself and the organization. It's been tough at times. Right now, for me, the most important thing is just trying to get healthy, figure out a way to be available to play hockey next year, wherever that might be."

His captaincy was stripped by the franchise at the start of training camp amid continued disagreement about the treatment of his injury and the ongoing trade speculation.

The problems were relatively consistent throughout the Eichel era in Buffalo: The Sabres couldn't generate enough offense from their bottom six, the defense struggled to make an impact outside of an occasional moment of brilliance from 2018 first overall pick Rasmus Dahlin, and the goaltending was typically subpar.

So while marquee names like Ryan O'Reilly, Evander Kane and, most recently, Taylor Hall created hope of a turnaround upon their arrivals, the results never changed. The Sabres completed their 10th straight season without qualifying for the playoffs in 2021, the league's longest active streak by five years.

A debate can be had about whether the losing culture that was created during Buffalo's pursuit of Eichel or McDavid was harder to escape than expected once the tanking was over. It's a viable theory given how the Sabres have crumbled at the first sight of adversity in recent years.

The bigger question is where the organization goes from here. A true No. 1 center is much like a franchise quarterback in the NFL—the most important building block to success. Trading Eichel leaves a massive void that won't be easy to fill, and it comes on the heels of Sam Reinhart's trade to the Florida Panthers in the offseason.

Perhaps Dylan Cozens, who showcased plenty of upside throughout his rookie season, can take on the role, or maybe the financial flexibility created by moving Eichel, who's under contract through 2026 as part of an eight-year, $80 million deal, can help the team find one via free agency or another trade.

There are no easy answers, however, and eight years after former Sabres general manager Darcy Regier warned their rebuilding efforts "may require some suffering," there's still no end in sight.

Meanwhile, Eichel will have an opportunity to begin a new chapter of his career with the Golden Knights. The most important thing for the 6'2" playmaker probably won't be his individual numbers, which are always strong, but instead finding far more team success than he did in Buffalo.

Once he recovers from the neck injury, he should slot in as the top-line center alongside wingers Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty in Vegas.

The Calgary Flames reportedly have a trade offer on the table for Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel.

Kevin Weekes of ESPN, NHL Network and TSN reported the rumor Wednesday.

The Flames' deal would center around 23-year-old left wing Matthew Tkachuk, who has four goals and two assists in nine games this year.

He has 114 goals and 170 assists in 358 lifetime games over six seasons with the Flames, who selected Tkachuk sixth overall in the 2016 NHL draft.

On Tuesday evening, ESPN's Emily Kaplan reported that the Flames and Vegas Golden Knights were the two finalists in the Eichel sweepstakes.

Kaplan also said that both teams were OK with Eichel going forth with his desire to have artificial disk replacement surgery in his neck, which has been a sticking point between him and the Sabres.

While Vegas and Calgary are reportedly the front-runners in the Eichel sweepstakes, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reported the St. Louis Blues are interested as well:

John Vogl of The Athletic also reported news that would seem to precipitate a move:

The Flames would appear to be in the lead for Eichel given that monster trade offer, although Vegas could come over the top. As Lyle Richardson of the Hockey News wrote, the Golden Knights have a need for a top-line center, and Eichel could be a fit there.

For now, Eichel remains a Sabre, although it doesn't appear that will be the case much longer.

Whichever team lands Eichel will get a player who has amassed 139 goals and 216 assists in 375 NHL games since 2015.

The Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights are reportedly the finalists in pursuit of a trade for Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel.

ESPN's Emily Kaplan reported the update Tuesday night and noted the talks are at the "1-yard line":

Eichel and the Sabres have been engaged in an extended standoff about what type of surgery he should receive to overcome a neck injury suffered last season.

The 25-year-old former Boston University standout has pushed for an artificial disk replacement his camp believes will give him a better quality of life moving forward, while the organization prefers a traditional disk fusion since the artificial disk surgery hasn't been performed on an active NHL player.

Based on the league's collective bargaining agreement, the team gets the final call on medical procedures, so Eichel has remained sidelined waiting for a possible trade.

Kaplan said both the Flames and Golden Knights are willing to allow Eichel to get the artificial disk replacement, which would come with a "minimum" of three months recovery time before he'd be cleared to play.

The timeline is important because the second overall pick in the 2015 draft would be a lock for Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing if healthy. The Americans' first game is set for Feb. 10 against the host nation of China, and the tournament runs through Feb. 20.

It seems unlikely the team that ultimately acquires Eichel would want his first action to come in the Olympics after being out since March, though.

Even if a trade isn't finalized in the next few days, it's hard to imagine a scenario where the dynamic center plays again for the Sabres given the longstanding dispute about the neck procedure and the team's overall lack of success since it drafted him.

Eichel, who's under contract through 2025-26 as part of his eight-year, $80 million deal, has done his part, scoring 355 points (139 goals and 216 assists) in 375 games for the Sabres. Alas, the franchise hasn't been able to put enough talent around him over the past six years to climb up the standings.

While the sides are almost definitely about to head their separate ways, there's still pressure on Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams to deliver a sizable return package for the three-time All-Star to help jump-start the latest rebuilding effort after several failed attempts over the past decade.

Once healthy, Eichel would immediately take over as the No. 1 center in either Calgary or Vegas, and with more talent around him, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him rank among the scoring leaders next season when he has a chance to play a full schedule.

Vancouver Canucks center Bo Horvat, who is also the team's player representative to the NHLPA, called out the organization for its handling of professional hockey player Kyle Beach's sexual assault allegations against ex-Chicago Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich.

Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet provided Horvat's comments:

Beach specifically called out NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr in an interview with  TSN's Rick Westhead:

"I know I reported every single detail to an individual at the NHLPA, who I was put in contact with after," Beach said, per ESPN's Emily Kaplan.

"I believe two different people talked to Don Fehr. And for him to turn his back on the players when his one job is to protect the players at all costs, I don't know how that can be your leader. I don't know how he can be in charge."

Fehr has since recommended that the NHLPA hire an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation into how the organization handled Beach's allegations, per Kaplan.

Beach's agent, Ross Gurney, said he placed a call to the NHLPA regarding Aldrich, who resigned from his position with the Blackhawks before working for USA Hockey at the 2011 Women's Under-18 World Championships.

“My purpose in calling the PA was to get a warning to USA Hockey,” Gurney said, per Westhead. “That is what I was directed to do by Kyle.”

Beach said that he spoke with Dr. Brian Shaw, a psychologist and program administrator with the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, but that nothing was done.

“Dr. Shaw told me [during a phone call] he would handle it and make sure that Team USA was aware that Brad Aldrich is a sexual predator,” Beach told TSN on Wednesday. "After that one conversation, the NHLPA cut me loose. I never heard from them again.”

Shaw declined to comment on the matter when TSN reached out.

"I want to be clear about memory bias and I have feelings of wanting to be fair and supportive of Kyle," Shaw said. "I'm not going to say anything else."

Following the forward's interview with TSN, Fehr released a statement in support of Beach while acknowledging the failures of the NHLPA to provide assistance:

Kyle Beach has been through a horrific experience and has shown true courage in telling his story. There is no doubt that the system failed to support him in his time of need, and we are part of that system.

In his media interview, Mr. Beach stated that several months after the incident he told someone at the NHLPA the details of what happened to him. He is referring to one of the program doctors with the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. While this program is confidential between players and the doctors, the grave nature of this incident should have resulted in further action on our part. The fact that it did not was a serious failure. I am truly sorry, and I am committed to making changes to ensure it does not happen again.

Chicago selected Beach 11th overall in the 2008 NHL draft. He's been a professional hockey player since 2009, when he first suited up for the AHL's Rockford IceHogs. Beach currently plays for Black Dragons Erfurt in the Oberliga in Germany.