Grass&sOIL:
Epic fail one again on the part of our medical and coaching staff. Sorry but you do not take chances on franchise players. A highly competitive player like Hall is gonna try his best to play through the pain and say he is all right but the medical and coaching staff needs to play it safe and at least give him the night off. As soon as I saw him back on the ice I said he should not be back in the game.

I’m not doctor, but I’ve had my share of shoulder issues in the past. I’m thinking the original was a dislocation, not a separation – so, they probably popped it back in and gave him the cortisone pain killer. My guess is they asked Taylor if he thought it was ok and he said yes. You’re not keeping that horse out of the race short of shooting him in the head.

My guess is TD probably had reservations, and told Taylor so. Probably something along the lines of – “if that comes out again, you’re sitting”. Honestly – dislocation, plenty of players have popped it back in and kept going, no problems. I wouldn’t see a reason in this case why the physician/trainer (and his NHL experience) would see anything different on this one than any other dislocation.

Anyways, two shifts later, Hallsy takes the cross check and POP – out it comes. You can see as he skates to the bench, he gives the head shake to either the trainers or the coach.

I don’t blame the staff on this one – Hallsy’s a tough kid, and he wanted to keep going. For a popped back shoulder, I would’ve let him go too. Also, remember this is the kid that got driven face first into the end boards and then came back to score the GWG at the Memorial Cup. He’s got a history of being pretty tough and resilient.

I’ll wait to see what the MRI says. Unfortunately, if a shoulder pops in and out easily, it could mean surgery.

I think Seguin is a great player, but I’m happy with our choice. Injuries suck, and Hall definitely needs to be aware of his surroundings more… but it comes with the territory of being a gritty player like that, I suppose. He was just starting to find his game too.