Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel won't play the rest of the season because of a neck injury.
The team said Wednesday that Eichel has a herniated disk and is expected to be healthy for the start of next season. The 24-year-old
鈥淗e (was) playing through it,鈥� interim coach Don Granato said after practice. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not something you want exposed, obviously, because it's such a competitive environment, so that鈥檚 information you don't want the opponents to have, obviously, for his safety. It鈥檚 a bummer."
Granato said he didn't know if Eichel would need surgery, adding, 鈥淵ou hope for him to feel better every day and improve every day.鈥�
Eichel had 18 points in 21 games before coming out of Buffalo鈥檚 lineup. The 2015 No. 2 pick and face of the beleaguered franchise is three seasons into an $80 million, eight-year contract that runs until 2026.
The Sabres have lost 32 of 42 games this season and are in last place in the NHL. They鈥檝e started to turn things around since Granato took over for fired coach Ralph Krueger and are 4-2-2 in their past eight games.
General manager Kevyn Adams hinted at a long-term absence for Eichel on Monday, saying 鈥渋t does look like he鈥檚 still going to be out for a while."
鈥淚 think part of this for Jack has been to make sure that the reason he鈥檚 not playing is because he鈥檚 not healthy enough to play,鈥� Adams said. "We need to help him, do everything we can as an organization, to get him back there.
Buffalo is 4-11-4 in Eichel鈥檚 absence. The Sabres traded forwards Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar,
鈥淚t's tough,鈥� teammate Sam Reinhart said of Eichel's injury. 鈥淵ou just hope he recovers and comes back better from it.鈥�
Eichel has 139 goals and 216 assists for 355 points in 375 regular-season games for Buffalo, which is well on its way to missing the playoffs for the 10th consecutive year.
Granato didn't have any updates on injured goaltenders Linus Ullmark and Carter Hutton. Ullmark left the Sabres' game Monday night at Boston with an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Dustin Tokarski.
Buffalo visits Washington on Thursday night in Capitals
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AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow contributed.
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Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
