Modifié 29 sept. 2021 à 20 h 52
Quoting: sensonfire
Jack Eichel as a professional hockey player is property of the Buffalo Sabres.
He signed a contract to play for them.
By refusing to play for the Sabres by not getting the medical treatment prescribed by the team, he appears to be violating that contract IMO.
If there's a part of the CBA that says a player under contract must seek the medical treatment prescribed by the team before returning to play, then the Buffalo Sabres have a legitimate beef in this matter.
However, if the CBA says the player gets to decide on the medical treatment, then that would be a different story.
I think this could end up in a court of law, as Elliotte Friedman alluded to.
IIRC, the club physician recommends the final course of treatment. The player may get a 2nd opinion, and if they can't reach a consensus, a third physician is brought in to help resolve the dispute.
The problem is that it is still the club's physician who makes the final call (but they must give proper consideration to the recommendations of the other physicians, whatever that means).
We have to assume that has already happened and it changed nothing.
Then there are avenues involving the league, NHLPA, and arbitrators, specifically to avoid these situations from ending up in courts. Including grievances.
Physician-patient relationship is supposed to trump their obligation to the club. I'm not convinced that is happening here, and if Eichel is similarly unconvinced, he has a case for a grievance as well.
This all has to happen before we can even get to the possibility of addressing the basic right of a player/patient being able to decide on their own course of treatment.
Not something the NHL wants, as it undermines their own system for clubs being able to exert control over their players as "property" and could potentially leak into other areas of their control being scrutinized.
That's why I find it so strange that Buffalo is being so stubborn (and the league is allowing it, though their reluctance to interfere in a club's autonomy is understandable).
IF it does go to court some reason, I can't see it going any other way than with Eichel winning and the league being forced to make changes to the CBA.