Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
It is not lost at all. Everyone knows that the specialists that the leagues deal with are among the best in their fields - no one is disputing that.
The issue here is that you are trying to imply that Eichel is 'going off the board', that the only 'correct' path is to stick with the listed specialists, when medicine - and in particular, surgery - is not the exact science that some believe it to be, and that there can be more than one solution, and more than one specialist for some situations.
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I think that the issue isn’t with going off the board. I think the issue is two fold. The first issue is that with any surgery there’s a risk, especially with spinal surgery. It’s harder for the team to gauge the risk because it was never done before (in hockey). They have Eichel on a 5 year contract worth around $50M they have to pay up either way. The second problem might be with the insurance company not wanting to pay if it’s not one of the league approved surgeries.
In fact, I think that if Eichel would’ve had less security with his current contract he might’ve went with the safer surgery. I honestly don’t know what he would’ve done if he was a UFA this season, just putting it out there.
PS: I was saying safer surgery, but I mean more known/researched/common. I don’t know which one is safer for an athlete medically speaking.