Should KA just allow Eichel to have the surgery now?

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, Curt said:

Definitely not Jack’s fault that the Sabres have been bad.  I can completely understand why he might be unhappy.

However, Jack made an 8 year commitment and to try to get out of it in an underhanded way would reflect negatively.

The Jack situation is very murky. We really don't know what is going on behind the scenes and what the communications are, and maybe more important what the tenor of the communications between the parties are. I don't even know where Jack was during the season. Was he around the team or was he back home? Was he working with the team trainers? Was he staying in touch with his teammates or was he out of touch? I don't know? Needless to say how this situation works out has major implications regarding the direction that this front office decides to go. 

[Taro T]

51 minutes ago, JohnC said:

The Jack situation is very murky. We really don't know what is going on behind the scenes and what the communications are, and maybe more important what the tenor of the communications between the parties are. I don't even know where Jack was during the season. Was he around the team or was he back home? Was he working with the team trainers? Was he staying in touch with his teammates or was he out of touch? I don't know? Needless to say how this situation works out has major implications regarding the direction that this front office decides to go. 

We don't even know, though @Brawndo might have info he'd be allowed to divulge, regarding whether players that are on IR are even allowed directly to associate with their teammates while out injured due to league-wide COVID protocols.

It is plausible that the league might have been requesting injured players stay away from the team other than the trainers & medical staff they need to interact with to speed their recovery.

So, depending upon protocols, there MAY have been an isolation from the team that neither Eichel nor management wanted but was asked to live with.  And Zoom/Teams meetings aren't nearly the same as being in the same room.  So, there could be an added degree of isolation contributing to the disconnect that we see from afar.  (And, the league might have no position on this at all.  Have no data at present.)

[Brawndo]

2 hours ago, Taro T said:

We don't even know, though @Brawndo might have info he'd be allowed to divulge, regarding whether players that are on IR are even allowed directly to associate with their teammates while out injured due to league-wide COVID protocols.

It is plausible that the league might have been requesting injured players stay away from the team other than the trainers & medical staff they need to interact with to speed their recovery.

So, depending upon protocols, there MAY have been an isolation from the team that neither Eichel nor management wanted but was asked to live with.  And Zoom/Teams meetings aren't nearly the same as being in the same room.  So, there could be an added degree of isolation contributing to the disconnect that we see from afar.  (And, the league might have no position on this at all.  Have no data at present.)

As long as they abide by the League’s Covid Protocols they are allowed to be around the team in the same capacity as non-injured player. When Jack went to Colorado for His Second Opinion he was placed in quarantine from the team for a week. 

[JohnC]

4 hours ago, Taro T said:

We don't even know, though @Brawndo might have info he'd be allowed to divulge, regarding whether players that are on IR are even allowed directly to associate with their teammates while out injured due to league-wide COVID protocols.

It is plausible that the league might have been requesting injured players stay away from the team other than the trainers & medical staff they need to interact with to speed their recovery.

So, depending upon protocols, there MAY have been an isolation from the team that neither Eichel nor management wanted but was asked to live with.  And Zoom/Teams meetings aren't nearly the same as being in the same room.  So, there could be an added degree of isolation contributing to the disconnect that we see from afar.  (And, the league might have no position on this at all.  Have no data at present.)

The reason why I brought up the issue of whether Jack was in communication with the organization and with his teammates, even if it wasn't face to face, is I don't know to what extent he is estranged from the team and organization, or if that is the case at all? You bring up a great point that the Covid situation has altered the way people interact and has created complications that we wouldn't have thought of before. As you and @Brawndo have  cited the requirement to quarantine after visiting a doctor in Colorado is an example of the restrictions involved with acting outside of your team's bubble. 

My suspicion based on nothing more than my gut is that the organization has already made a decision on how to handle the three players in question: Jack, Risto and Reinhart. My sense is that any player that the front office doesn't believe is invested in the team will be moved out with the hope of maximizing the return. 

[Kong]

I don't think any hockey player in his right mind would get this operation. It's too experimental. I think Jack just wants to manufacture a controversy and that he wants out because he doesn't trust the organization is being run competently. And he's right.

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, Kong said:

I don't think any hockey player in his right mind would get this operation. It's too experimental. I think Jack just wants to manufacture a controversy and that he wants out because he doesn't trust the organization is being run competently. And he's right.

He's 24 yo.  He's frustrated.  He knows this injury MIGHT linger throughout his career trying to let rest & therapy to allow it to heal on its own.  He knows MMA fighters have gotten back in the ring fairly quickly after having this surgery; apparently w/out issue.

He's been told that this will leave him w/ a better quality of life post hockey (presumably vs vertebrate fusion, possibly vs letting it heal on its own).  And he isn't a medical professional.

People are projecting their own biases onto this situation.  (Pretty much all of us.)

Not wishing my life away, but will be happy when October gets here.