NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman addresses both the Robin Lehner and Jack Eichel situations

Gary Bettman, Commissioner of the NHL, has had his say on both the Jack Eichel and Robin Lehner situations currently catching the attention of fans. Eichel is, of course, stuck in a dispute with the Buffalo Sabres over the type of surgery he should have on his neck, while Lehner created a firestorm on Twitter over the weekend by accusing NHL teams of handing out prescription drugs to players without a prescription.

Bettman appeared on the The Jeff Marek Show on Monday and was asked about his perspective on Lehner's position.

"We take his comments seriously and we'd like in short order to be in a conversation with him so we can hear his concerns directly and we're going to follow up to see what merit there may be to his concerns," Bettman said. "You don't have to tweet to get our attention. We have an 800 number people can call. You can call us directly, we're an open book. But if he has concerns we want to hear them and see how they need to be addressed."

Lehner was seemingly singling out Philadelphia head coach Alain Vigneault with his initial comments. He has since clarified what he meant (you can read more about that here). Meawhile, the reporter who alleged that a source told him that the player who had been given Ambien and benzodiazepines without a prescription was Nolan Patrick has since retracted that statement saying his information was inaccurate. Lehner has said he's had a conversation with the NHLPA over his allegations and it looks like the NHL is next.

Related: FLYERS HEAD COACH ALAIN VIGNEAULT DENIES LEHNER'S SERIOUS ACCUSATIONS

As for Eichel, Bettman acknowledged it's a difficult situation.

"We're pretty up to speed in terms of what's going on," Bettman said. "And there's a legitimate disagreement among doctors as to what the course of treatment would be best, both in the short-term and long-term and that's something everybody's wrestling with.

"It's a terrible situation. I don't think it's fair to point the finger at anybody in terms of who's right and wrong. I think everybody's approaching this with the best intentions and that the injury is complex both in its diagnosis and its treatment and I think people need to be a little more patient."

Eichel has already stated he will never play for Buffalo again. The Sabres appear to be waiting for the right return before satisfying his trade request.

Source: Sportsnets

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