Eichel to miss rest of season with neck injury

Jack Eichel's season is officially over.

The Buffalo Sabres superstar won't return to the ice this season due to a herniated disc in his neck, the club announced Wednesday. The team expects him to be ready to play at the start of the 2021-22 campaign.

Eichel hasn't suited up for a game since March 7. The normally dominant Sabres captain struggled to score in 2021, collecting two goals and 16 assists in 21 contests. He posted a shooting percentage of only 3.3 after tallying at a 15.9% rate last season. The 24-year-old racked up a career-high 36 goals to go along with 42 assists over 68 games in 2019-20.

His underlying numbers also indicated bad luck was a factor in 2021. The dynamic center produced a goals for percentage of 38.46 at five-on-five, but his expected goals for percentage was a favorable 56.42 in those situations, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Eichel has played his entire six-year career with Buffalo. The Sabres drafted him second overall in 2015 and named him captain at the start of the 2018-19 campaign.