As if Buffalo Sabres fans weren't tired of hearing about all the Jack Eichel drama these days.
As if Buffalo Sabres fans weren't tired of hearing about all the Jack Eichel drama these days.
On Monday, drivers in the downtown Buffalo area could be met with a digital billboard reading, “Aren’t trade requests a pain in the neck? #FreeJack.”
The display, located on the corner of Scott and Chicago near the Keybank Center, was purchased by Ryan Mead and Greg Kaplan, hosts of the New York Rangers fan podcast, Blueshirts Breakaways. This comes on the heels of months of rumors linking Eichel to the Rangers.
Some fans, however, weren't too thrilled about it. Many on social media were unhappy at the billboard due to the ongoing discourse surrounding Sabres fans and other fanbases with allegiances to teams tied to Eichel rumors.
Extreme? Maybe. Is it a publicity stunt for the podcast? Sure. But if it isn't your money being spent, it's not a big deal, right?
Eichel and the Sabres have been at odds publicly for a few months now. The 24-year-old star forward wants to undergo an artificial disk replacement, but the Sabres' doctors have instead leaned towards Eichel having anterior cervical discectomy and fusion surgery.
So while the billboard was all fun and games, there's still the question of what's going to happen next for Eichel and the Sabres - and it doesn't look like we're getting a resolution in the near future, either.