Joined: Jun. 2015
Posts: 20,030
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There was 2 surgery options, Disc Replacement (Eichels preference) and Neck Fusion (Sabres preference). The sabres did not want Eichel to get the disc replacement surgery as no NHL player has had that surgery before and as part of the CBA the team has final say on what surgery a player can get. They did not want Eichel to get something that they didnt know how a player would respond back on the ice too so they dug their heels in the ground and did not budge.
The relationship bw the team and Eichel was already strained before the surgery, the stale mate bw the surgeries is what ended it, it was the final straw for Eichel
If the Disc replamcent surgery fails, what happens is he gets the fusion surgery regardless, so I really dont know why the Sabres were so deadset against it. It hasn't been done on an NHL player but Football and MMA athletes have received it and made full recoveries.