That Aud Smell

I thought I read that the slashes to the hands/wrists were going to be a specific area of focus this season? Those hacks Casey was taking on that play were so bad that he practically turned around to the ref to be like "WTF?!" And his linemate Minestrone still got a breakaway out of it.

Also, shoutout to me for getting those names right (?) in the thread topic title.

For Mittlestadt, I was worried it was gonna be more like 2-3 months, as it appeared he took a hack to his gloves before leaving the game.

Edited to add: #IJustMadetheList

Yo - that is wack.

I loved watching peak Eichel play for the Sabres. He is a rare talent, imo. I don't think his style (approach? role? temperament?) would fit all that well with what Granato's teaching and demanding. This is not an indictment on Eichel. His talent, vision, strength, skating ability, etc. are such that, most times, he has this sort of almost languid (even mellow (?)) quality about his game. I know that's ridiculous to say, on some level, because I sat 5 rows up once when Eichel was at his peak, and holy sp1t everyone on the ice, especially him, is so fast. But he has this manner in which he seems to be anticipating what is going to happen in 2 seconds, so he sort of slows the game down a bit, waits for his window, and then BAM. From what I've seen, I don't see him as someone who can properly commit to playing with high pace, high intensity, hair on fire. I don't think that's his game.

It appears he got hurt in connection with that breakaway play where he and his line-mate (Minestrone?) almost had a 2-on-none — he was getting hooked pretty fierce. I’m hoping nothing is broken in the hand/wrist area.

Okposo in the intermission interview - talked about how it’s good to see a translation from how they feel about each other to how they play on the ice. That’s quite something.

Momentum killing power play.

Sabres are gonna bang you and make it real hard.

They are flying.

And tenacious.

They look fast.

Little pitchy there. It’s difficult to sing slow!

I looked at the starting lineup. There's at least one name there - in the third pairing - that I do not recognize at all. And just looking at that lineup again. Lord help us.

I went ahead and peeked at the CBA. Not easy reading. It appears to me that Cappuccino's opinion may have been that of a so-called third physician expert, not that of a team physician. In all events, it is clear that a team physician -- one of Freitas, Fineberg, or Jain (based on what's on the team's website) -- will make the final determination on a diagnosis and course of treatment. "(e) Following the later of: (i) issuance of the Second Medical Opinion; or (ii) issuance of the recommendation on diagnosis or course of treatment by the Third Physician Expert, if any, the team physician shall determine the diagnosis and/or course of treatment (including the timing thereof) after consulting with the Second Medical Opinion Physician and the Third Physician Expert, if any, and giving due consideration to his/her/their recommendation(s)." It also seems to me that the time for a medical grievance to be filed by the NHLPA has long since passed.

1000s of doctors conduct IME’s for third parties (mostly insurance companies) every day. From what I can tell, Cappuccino is not treating Jack; he’s examining Jack on behalf of the Sabres.

Based on what I know of IME’s, I’d imagine he examined Eichel and reviewed all of his records, scans and, test results. No direct contact with his treating doctors. As for the balance: I’ve explained my view of that. These things aren’t binary.

Protecting was a mite strong there. But not overly. He provided his determination on behalf of the Sabres relative to a player-asset that the Sabres have (own (😮)). Entirely possible. And/or maybe Eichel’s presentation is such that Cappuccino doesn’t see how ADR would work for him.

As far as I can tell, they paid Cappuccino *to provide* an opinion - there’s a difference. I do not think the Sabres told him what to say. He most certainly would not engage in that kind of deal. None of that negates what I’ve said. Again, he’s not Eichel’s treating physician. He’s a team physician, hired by the team, to provide a determination on behalf of the team. If he were Eichel’s personal doctor (he’s not), maybe he would have agreed to do an ADR.

Not for nothing: Cappuccino is a world-leading proponent of ADR surgery. He’s practically an evangelist for it. So the fact that he recommends against it here is … quite something. I’m not sure what that something is, tbh. But it’s remarkable.

Suffice to say: I’m not attacking the guy’s character, integrity, honesty, etc. These things are far from binary. He’s acting on behalf of the Sabres, assuredly within the bounds of professional standards and ethics. Absolutely not, for reasons stated above. This sort of activity goes on all the time. All the time.

He’s not Eichel’s treating doctor. He’s the team’s independent medical examiner (or something along that line). He’s not treating Eichel; he’s protecting the team.