Positive News With the Sabres and Jack Eichel Trade Saga

The Buffalo Sabres regular season starts in less than one week; next Thursday evening against the Montreal Canadiens at KeyBank Center.

However, the bigger news with most fans continues to be disgruntled star forward Jack Eichel.

Eichel wants a trade out of Buffalo, but it's his neck injury has complicated matters and a driving force for why a trade has not yet taken place between the Sabres and another team.

The Sabres, along with any other team in the NHL, get the final say in which medical procedure a player gets. That was negotiated in the current collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHLPA.

The Sabres want Eichel to get disc infusion surgery, while Eichel and his medical team want the ADR surgery, also known as artificial disc replacement.

The good news this week is that Eichel's agent, Pat Brisson, told SportsNet in Canada that other teams have agreed to let Eichel get the ADR surgery, and that Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has been in talks with those teams regarding a potential trade.

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Another important factor is that Eichel is willing to go pretty much anywhere at this point. Brisson says Eichel just wants to play and he doesn't currently have a no-trade clause -- that kicks in next summer.

Earlier this week, Darren Dreger of TSN reported that teams have been given access to additional medical files with Eichel, which has helped moved the process along in regards to a trade.

It's probably getting old for fans but it does look as if a Jack Eichel trade will happen shortly, especially since Eichel wants to play before the end of this season, so like his agent Pat Brisson said, the clock is ticking.