Jack Eichel's representatives released a statement Friday night saying "the process is not working," deepening the rift between the Buffalo Sabres captain and the team.

In an email to The Associated Press, agents Peter Fish and Peter Donatelli contradicted general manager Kevyn Adams by saying the Sabres went against their own medical staff's recommendation in determining artificial disk replacement surgery was required to repair a herniated disk that sidelined the player for the final two months of the season.

The agents also wrote they fully anticipated Eichel would be traded before the start of the NHL's free agency period, which opened on Wednesday.

Star winger Vladimir Tarasenko has requested a trade from the St. Louis Blues, a source confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.

Tarasenko, 29, is in the seventh year of an eight-year, $60 million deal he signed in July 2015. He has a full no-trade clause to go along with 218 goals and 224 assists in 531 regular-season games, all of them with St. Louis.