Chosen by the Sabres with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, Eichel leads the team with 53 points (22 goals, 31 assists) in 55 games this season. He missed the first 21 games of the 2016-17 season because of a high left ankle sprain that sidelined him for seven weeks.
"It's tough. He battled back last year from one, and this year, just the way he was playing, I thought his game was coming around for the last two and a half months," Housley said. "He's a tremendous competitor, he wants to win, and he's probably taking it pretty hard. But as we move forward, there'll be light at the end of the tunnel."