Eichel: It felt like Sabres were 'toying with me' before trade

Vegas Golden Knights superstar Jack Eichel is back in Buffalo, and he spoke about his falling out with the franchise ahead of his highly anticipated clash with the Sabres on Thursday.

Eichel mentioned being stuck in limbo while waiting for neck surgery and being stripped of his captaincy as points of contention as the relationship deteriorated over the offseason.

"I was frustrated," Eichel told ESPN's Emily Kaplan. "If you think about the reason why you took the captaincy away from me, it was because I didn't agree with you medically. Then you basically told me not to come around for training camp. At that point, it just felt like they were toying with me. So I was just, I was pretty over it."

Eichel was ultimately traded to Vegas in November and promptly underwent artificial disc replacement surgery, which the Sabres wouldn't sign off on. The 25-year-old debuted for the Golden Knights on Feb. 16 and has seven points in 10 games since returning to the ice.

While the split between Eichel and the Sabres was dramatic, he isn't harboring any hard feelings.

"I think about my time in Buffalo, it obviously ended a little bit messy," Eichel said. "But I hope (fans) can look past some of the things that happened maybe in the last year and think about the previous five-and-a-half, six years that I was there, and everything that I tried to do for the community, everything that I feel like I put forth on the ice as a hockey player, and know I just tried to do as much as I could for the city."

He added: "No bitterness. None whatsoever. I had a phenomenal time here," according to Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News.

Eichel also said he's curious about what kind of reaction he'll receive in his first game as a visitor at KeyBank Center.

"You wonder what the reception will be like, but I can't control that," Eichel said, per The Athletic's Jesse Granger. "I gave everything I had while I was here. Whatever the reception is, I'll be able to handle it."

Puck drop between the Golden Knights and Sabres is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Thursday.

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