[Knightslayer]

Originally Posted by 2macinnis2

Look I see people with degenerative cervical spine disease every day and have done hundreds of surgeries comparable to the one Eichel had done. Of those, the majority of patients have more than one problem with their spines and unfortunately most don’t return to their 100% baseline (which for those who aren’t pro athletes, is an acceptable result usually). There are some who have very good looking spines except one problem, and if that were Eichel, I think more teams would have been in the fray.

I think when you can’t even get a non-lottery protected first rounder for a player that is arguably better than the majority of #1 overall picks from the last decade, it speaks volumes about what how his medical condition was weighed by those in the know. If I were the Flames neurosurgeon, and I was brought films of a player with a truly ‘bad neck,’ I would be clear in telling the team the likelihood of the player having a long, pain and injury free career is probably low. I think that’s why the return for Buffalo was so bad.

Of course, like everyone else not in the know, I’m just putting out my best educated guess.

One last point… on ADR. That procedure is also generally a better fit for patients with good looking necks but one disc herniation. I wonder if some of the Sabres hesitation was that the anatomy wasn’t ideal for the procedure, which if it is the case, is a really bad sign for his long term prognosis.

Great post man, thanks for sharing your knowledge.