Relationships between the Buffalo Sabres and their former captain were clearly frayed last year but General Manager Kevyn Adams said it was a good thing for the NHL that Jack Eichel returned to the ice Wednesday night for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Eichel played 17 1/2 minutes in Vegas' 2-0 loss to Colorado, his first game since March 7, 2021. He was traded by the Sabres on Nov. 4, 2021, for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, a first-round pick this year and a second-rounder in 2023.
Eichel played 17:24, had one shot on goal and a minus-1 rating.
"On a personal level, I'm happy for Jack and I've said that all along," Adams said Thursday in KeyBank Center as the Sabres were preparing to meet the Ottawa Senators. "I'm happy to see him back playing. We've moved on here. We are so focused on what we're doing here. But, obviously, I saw the news that he was playing.
"I think more about how excited I am about Alex and Peyton and the first-round pick and the second-round pick than what's going on there. But I am happy for him on that personal level. It's good for him."
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As Adams said, the Sabres are thrilled with how the trade is working at their end. Tuch entered Thursday's game with 19 points in 16 games for the Sabres -- the third-most in franchise history at that stretch for a trade acquisition behind Doug Gilmour (23 points in 2000) and Pat LaFontaine (23 points in 1991). Krebs has three assists over the last two games.
Can both teams win a trade?
"I don't often think about it that way. I get so focused after a trade of what we're doing," Adams said. "Sam Reinhart is a great player. You know when you trade Sam Reinhart, he's going to have success like we've seen (Reinhart has 17 goals and 45 points in 45 games this season for Florida). So for me, I don't totally focus on that. I think about what we need to do.
"There are circumstances where it can be win-win because both teams can get what they need out of the deal. And I think that's all both teams are doing when you do a deal."
Cozens is close to producing at a 20-goal pace, totaling 11 goals and 21 points in 44 games. He’s averaging 15:55 of ice time and ranks fourth on the team with 83 shots on goal.
Caggiula has season-ending surgery
The season is officially over for Sabres winger Drake Caggiula, who had surgery Thursday in Los Angeles on a herniated disc. He has a recovery timetable of 6 to 8 months.
Caggiula, who is a pending unrestricted free agent, had two goals and three assists in 18 games for the Sabres this season. He has not played since Nov. 22 and had tried returning to practice in a noncontact role in early January, but never got back into the lineup. Caggiula opted for a standard fusion procedure, the one that was rejected by Eichel before he was traded.Â
Buffalo's Drake Caggiula settles a bouncing puck during action where the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Detroit Red Wings at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021.
"[Caggiula] has been seeing some different specialists and gathered all the information and then made the decision a few days ago that he was moving forward with the surgery," Adams said. "He saw obviously our doctor, a second opinion and a third opinion just to kind of gather more information. And that's what he felt most comfortable with."
Heritage jerseys released
After an inadvertent leak late Wednesday night on ShopOneBuffalo.com, the Sabres officially release their jerseys for the March 13 Heritage Classic against Toronto in Hamilton, Ont. It is an off-white sweater with details from various points in the club's history, including a double-stripe motif of Royal Blue and Gold.
The Buffalo crest on the chest is multi-dimensional, much like the one unveiled on the 50th anniversary jersey in 2019. The "charging bison" shoulder crest dates to the 2018 Winter Classic in New York and the multi-stripe socks pay homage to the franchise's first 25 seasons.
Classic looks and details with a new, fresh design...Introducing our Heritage Classic jersey. https://t.co/6pKGaWFaCJ | @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/uDbm4lpiBc
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) February 17, 2022
Other injury updates
Jack Quinn and Vinnie Hinostroza (lower body): Adams said Hinostroza is a few days away from returning to practice after tweaking his injury a couple of weeks ago. "The good news is the MRI the next day right away didn't show any further damage or any structural issues. It's just more of a setback. Jack Quinn has the same injury. That timeline depends on every guy being a little different. Jack's at four weeks right now and he's doing really well."
Zemgus Girgensons (lower body): Adams said his absence was related to last year’s hamstring surgery "and he just had to get it under control. But he’s doing well, so probably still a couple weeks away."
Will Butcher: Is skating on his own and is now more day to day than week to week. Adams feared a season-ending injury when Butcher was injured Jan. 30 in Arizona, "but the result was better than everybody expected."
Mike Harrington
Sports Columnist
A News staffer since 1987, I'm a Baseball Hall of Fame voter, a 2013 inductee into the Buffalo Baseball HOF and the Buffalo chapter chair of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. And I insist only Chicago & New York can come close to Buffalo pizza.
