New Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel is scheduled to undergo an artificial disk replacement surgery Nov. 12 at a spine clinic in Denver, he said Friday.
The surgery was the centerpiece of the tension between Eichel and his former team, the Buffalo Sabres. The procedure has never been performed on an NHL player and the Sabres were pushing for a fusion surgery for Eichel’s herniated disk.
“You hope for the best but prepare for the worst,” Eichel said, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “In that case obviously I’m hoping that it’s a three-month recovery, and after three months if I’m ready to get back to doing what I love.”
Eichel and a 2023 third-round draft pick were traded Thursday from Buffalo to Vegas in exchange for forwards Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs, a top-10 protected 2022 first-round pick and a 2023 second-rounder.
Eichel said Dr. Chad Prusmack at the Rocky Mountain Spine Clinic will perform the procedure.
Once he has the surgery, Eichel could be cleared to skate in six weeks but would be out at least three months before he’s cleared for contact.
Eichel, 25, is in the fourth year of an eight-year, $80 million contract. Vegas inherits his $10 million cap hit this season, per reports.
He has 355 points (139 goals, 216 assists) in 375 games, all with the Sabres. Buffalo took him No. 2 overall in the 2015 draft.
–Field Level Media