Marvin

Logical enough. Not his purview.

I don't think he would be pushing for the surgery if he were trying to depress his value.

This will be a fine line which GMKA and everyone else in management needs to balance. Everyone here is targetting top youth who are, as you say, at least a year away. Yes, they are top youth. But we could wind up in a vicious circle. I personally would prefer a bunch of 2nd liners who are here now and might elevate their games with 4 second-third lines. Say we trade with a team -- let us try to get some established players. Target their 2C who would be demoted when Eichel arrives. Look for the younger 3C being covered by veterans who can take the next step in return for Reinhart. Find that day-at-home D whom they are trying to replace with a puck mover like Ristolainen.

Monstrous Wildebeest

In the US, it is. I am going to look at the liability part of the SPC later because I suspect the Sabres will be very reluctant to OK it if they are on the hook for the procedure. And I imagine they are (the trade off for the player giving up control is that the owners would be liable). Now, they have OK-ed this kind of risk before (Tim Connolly), but that was another ownership group.

Is there anything in the SPC about the liability of the Sabres if the surgery goes awry, particularly if the team's doctors object? That would be a huge legal deterrent for the Sabres that can not be ignored. I agree with the 2nd and 3rd paragraphs wholeheartedly. That scenario makes the most sense. I am not a fan of violating best practises. Unless something from other countries shows that this works on high-aerobic athletes whose necks get turned a lot, I would be very reluctant of acting quickly.

If you are really suspicious, you might figure that Jack is using his impending NMC to force the Sabres to sell low so as not to damage the team his is going to. How Machiavellian do you think he is? I don't see it that way -- particularly if we get a coach he is excited about and the line-up after UFA is one he likes.

Unless GMKA is an MD, he absolutely positively should take the doctors' advice and not over-ride them.

I understand your cynicism. Heck, I started where you are. However, in this case, it is likely to be in both sides' best interests over the long-term for Jack not to get the surgery unless the pain becomes as bad as SDS described.. If Jack does not recover from this, Jack AND the team are both screwed. The team probably likes the non-invasive route because it is, eventually, over 90% effective if the herniation is small enough. This is a tough call.

I love the bolded.

Based on your experience and what you have seen, how much of the disagreement could be over the level of pain? I could see Jack saying, "I just want this pain to go away."

I will congratulate GMKA if he is able to extract a legitimate 1st line player for either of them. I personally think the best he can do is a couple 2nd-3rd line players and a first for either of them. I also take any OK prospect they throw in on top. I might be able to put a buffer between Mittlestadt and the top line talent. If we can roll a line-up where Cozens is legitimately my #3a centre and Girgensons and Okposo have an established, quality #3b centre, I might actually be happy about all this.

I have sympathy for both positions. But based on my knowledge and understanding, my answer is no -- the Sabres should follow best practises. Eichel's position is both simple and complex. He wants the surgery because it is faster for more than just impatience: slipped disks can be very painful. He also can't lift weights or do extended aerobics like jogging. So the longer he goes without surgery, the worse off he will be when the season starts. He wants to lead in the off-season, but he can't. However, best practises are best practises. Among other reasons, the surgery is not always effective. Thus, unless the time elapsed is so long and the progress made so minimal, they should not budge. While under contract, the Sabres are on the hook for his well-being. They must continue their policy until their staff says it's long enough or a neutral board of neurologists and neurosurgeons say otherwise.

The best practises say, all other things being equal, avoid surgery (90+%), weight-lifting, and heavy-duty aerobics until the disc is back in place or fused. Everyone else here thinks the Sabres staff is automatically wrong, but they look to be right on percentages.

After reading Vogl's articles and after reading the recommendations of the North American Spine Society and numerous other sources, we as fans can assume that the Sabres will point at the best practises -- over 90% of the time, surgery is not necessary and, moreover, may not work. The biggest minus from Eichel's point of view is that weightlifting is out while going the Sabres' way and heavy aerobics is discouraged. So waiting the way the Sabres want it means he won't be in shape by training camp. The surgery is likely to have him in game shape sooner. If there is a grievance from the NHLPA, how do they have a leg to stand on? The Sabres have best practises on their side.

Yup. I was thinking of Kharlamov, but for some reason, I thought of Yakushev.

If it goes badly, it won't matter much if he is a free agent. In that case, he should retire.

1st round pick. 2nd tier prospect Bottom 6 roster player. book it.

Let us get our heads in the right spot. If Jack and Sam are $1 players, hope for a half-dollar coin and a pair of quarters in exchange. Most likely, one of those is a slug. Unless we are trading with a team that needs to shake up its core as well, we will NOT get a top player for either Jack or Sam; that defeats the purpose of the teams trading for them. And, if I were them, I would try to just acquire Jack and/or Sam for my prospects, picks, and lower-end roster players. Therefore, any prospect will be a year or two away from their point of view. A 1st round pick is probably in the deal. You will get some roster filler.

Nope. Yakushev. The Soviets' top player in the Summit Series. The guy whose ankle Bobby Clarke set out to break.

I remember Darcy and Lindy saying at the beginning of the year, very specifically, that if the league really enforced the rules as they promised, then they expected to make the playoffs "comfortably". In response, people around the hockey world derided them by saying they expected "to draw blood from a stone," as one pundit said. So their clear expectation was that the Sabres were good enough to land about 6th in the conference. There was no reason to expect to have anything other than 4 middle lines based on the team before The Great Lockout. BTW, you can construct a Stanley Cup Finalist without having a top line per se -- ask the Las Vegas Golden Knights, so the theory is replicable. How often and how well is another matter.

No - they had a good plan and got lucky that they turned from a decent playoff team into the best team in hockey -- barring injuries. I think they planned 2005-6 as a year to find what they needed -- and found that they didn't need anything but ordinary luck.

They weren't expected to be. The plan was 3 2nd lines. Briere broke out, Connolly fulfilled his promise, and Drury elevated his game all in 1 season.

I figure that is part of it. It is his life and neck injuries should always be handled with the method that is a saddle point for the widest margin for error, maximum safety, and maximum chance of success, shortest recovery time, and sustainability. Honestly, the Sabres should have let him make the decision. My Dad knew one of the top neurosurgeons in the country (Pittsburgh) -- they need a 3rd party perspective and respect Jack's call. If it were me, I would be Jack right now. I remember Yakushev...

3 2nds and a 3rd, but yeah. This is the proper model.