UNDATED (AP) — Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel has failed his pre-training camp physical and has been placed on injured reserve. That leaves the two sides no closer to a resolution over how to treat a herniated disk he suffered in March.
General manager Kevyn Adams says Eichel was also stripped of his captaincy as the Sabres opened camp.
The developments mean Eichel is out for the foreseeable future, with a growing likelihood that the face of the franchise has already played his final game with the team that selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft. The Sabres failed in their attempts to trade the five-time 20-goal scorer during the offseason.
In other NHL news:
— The league is counting on most of its players to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The league says 10 to 15 players out of 700 will likely not be vaccinated with the season begins Oct. 12. One of them is Detroit’s Tyler Bertuzzi, who calls it a personal decision. He faces a loss of more than $400,000 if he cannot travel to Canada to play in games because of virus protocols.
— The Rangers say they’ll honor late Hall of Famer Rod Gilbert by wearing a patch featuring his No. 7 on their jerseys this season. Players will also wear white “Gilbert” jerseys for pregame warmups prior to the home opener at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 14 that will be auctioned off for charity. Gilbert died in August at age 80.
