Hemsky was playing with concussion symptoms.

[PDO]

It doesn’t appear to be any particular hit that KO’d [Hemsky], more an accumulation of blows over the last half-dozen games.

“He took a puck in the head in Vancouver, an elbow to the head and a stick to the cheek in games on the road trip we just finished and he was a little out of sorts tonight, so we pulled him,” said Oilers head coach Tom Renney.

“He’s had some symptoms before this game and the doctor looked at him and I don’t know what conclusion they’ve drawn.”

How ****ing stupid is the management on this team?

Training staff my ass.

This reeks of Kevin Lowe again.

When the **** will he learn? Seriously?

Under his watch (and he is the ONLY constant on this team in the last decade), we've seen the likes of..

Souray bitching "upper management" wanted him to play early through a bad shoulder. Out for season.

Horcoff hurting his shoulder at the ASG and playing the next game. Out for season.

Stoll coming back early from a concussion. Hasn't been the same since.

Hemsky... well there's probably 15 stories there.

Mike York playing with a broken wrist.... while being the trigger man on the PP (I think that was MacT too, but hey, Lowe was the GM...)

I mean, how many ****ing times does this have to happen? Hemsky clearly wasn't hiding the symptoms if all the media guys knew. Players are always going to want to play.

So where's someone to step in and say NO?

Souray was right.

It wasn't the training staff. It's the same god damn story.

The culture in this organization ****ing reeks.

[Opus]

Re: Hemsky was playing with concussion symptoms.

They keep bringing in guys with vaginas?

[pizmo]

Re: Hemsky was playing with concussion symptoms.

So we'll have nobody playing in the 'All Star Game'?

[Sectionq]

Re: Hemsky was playing with concussion symptoms.

How ****ing stupid is the management on this team?

Training staff my ass.

This reeks of Kevin Lowe again.

When the **** will he learn? Seriously?

Under his watch (and he is the ONLY constant on this team in the last decade), we've seen the likes of..

Souray bitching "upper management" wanted him to play early through a bad shoulder. Out for season.

Horcoff hurting his shoulder at the ASG and playing the next game. Out for season.

Stoll coming back early from a concussion. Hasn't been the same since.

Hemsky... well there's probably 15 stories there.

Mike York playing with a broken wrist.... while being the trigger man on the PP (I think that was MacT too, but hey, Lowe was the GM...)

I mean, how many ****ing times does this have to happen? Hemsky clearly wasn't hiding the symptoms if all the media guys knew. Players are always going to want to play.

So where's someone to step in and say NO?

Souray was right.

It wasn't the training staff. It's the same god damn story.

The culture in this organization ****ing reeks.

I get really sick and tired of your bashing the management and blaming then for every single thing that happens. Plus bringing up crap from years ago that have no bearing on today. Stoll was what, 3 or ago? When the hell was Mike York an Oiler 5, 6 yrs ago? The coach has been gone for 2 yrs, the GM 3 or 4. The training staff was changed out.

Do you HONESTLY think that Klowe came down and said "Hemsky stop being such a baby and get the hell out there. I don't give a sh!t if your head hurts". Seriously? COME MAN!!!

Do you work for the Oilers training staff? Are you the Oilers doctor? How the hell do you know what was going on? What if the symptoms were so mild, they didn't notice anything. PLUS the PLAYER HAS TO SAY SOMETHING!!! The player has to tell someone he is hurt, especially for a head injury. Teams don't go around rounding up all the players saying "hey guys, we are going down to the clinic for our daily MRI , xray and CT scan".

Everytime you bump your arm or leg hard, do you run to your doctor or Emerg and say "i need an xray"? Or do you do like every other normal person in the world go when you know something is really wrong. I went skiing this past weekend to sunshine. There was ridiculous amounts of powder and I took a few good spills because of it. I didn't run to the Banff hospital screaming "someone check me, you never know, I might have a concussion, I fell down a few times".

You said it yourself. "Hemsky was clearly hiding the symptoms". So if he doesn't tell anyone something doesn't feel right, when they ask "hey hemmer, you took a pretty good shot there, you ok?" and he says he is fine. Are they supposed to call him a liar and drag him to the doctor against his will? These are GROWN MEN!!! These aren't freaking 1 yr olds where you have to do things because you know better because they don't really know. They do and say whatever the hell they want. If they don't think they need treatment, if there isn't obvious swelling, bones popping through skin, limps or he isn't staggering around, you aren't going to force him into treatment for anything. Why the hell would you? You can't force a grown man to do anything he doesn't want. I'm 33yrs old and I can tell you no one forces me to do anything, except maybe the police and my wife. This isn't a shot at you at all because I have no idea how old you are but I assume you are an adult and make your own decisions so I would guess you typically don't let to many people tell you what to do either. So why would it be different for grown men playing hockey?

Blaming management especially KLowe is way out to lunch here.

[Sectionq]

Re: Hemsky was playing with concussion symptoms.

Hall took a pretty good shot from Doughty, maybe they should of had him stay in the hospital overnight. He said he was fine but is he really? Maybe deep down inside somewhere there is a tiny bit of a concussion symptom? Hall feels fine but maybe he doesn't know he isn't fine. After all, it is his body, he is the one that feels every ache, pain, gets up every morning but maybe he doesn't really know his own body.
To go further, maybe all players should have to sit out a game or 2 every time they take any sort of body check that isn't more than a guy touching him lightly. After all, you never know. Hemsky could of taken 50 checks with no real effects and then finally that last one set it off enough that he felt something. But if management was doing their job, they should of had him in after the first one?

[stamphater]

Re: Hemsky was playing with concussion symptoms.

Kevin Lowe was ordering Hemsky to play? I don't think so. That is absurd especially after all the notes you just put there.

Sounds to me like the team doctor is the one to blame here...

[Sectionq]

Re: Hemsky was playing with concussion symptoms.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/sport...999/story.html

Here is a link to a story stating that Hemsky showed ZERO signs of any problems. Always told the coaches he was fine and ready to go.

It goes on to talk to Horcoff about how extremely careful Renney (part of management) is with any injured players. How Renney doesn't approach any players until the Doc says they are totally ready to go and even Horcoff saying he wishes the coach would push them a little harder.

Here is a direct quote from Horcoff.


He is probably the most protective coach I’ve been around. That’s great,” Horcoff said. “He wouldn’t even start talking to me until the doctor said, ‘Hey, he’s good.’ You have to prove you’re fit, that you’re in shape that you can contribute, and then he has to know the doctors have given you clearance.

“Tom hasn’t been pressuring any of us at all (to get back into the lineup sooner). I almost wish he would have been, then I could have been back a couple of games ago,” Horcoff continued.

[PDO]

Re: Hemsky was playing with concussion symptoms.

Kevin Lowe was ordering Hemsky to play? I don't think so. That is absurd especially after all the notes you just put there.

Sounds to me like the team doctor is the one to blame here...

Directly?

Eh. Hard to say.

Indirectly?

Hard to imagine how not. The Oilers very clearly have a culture problem. Guys are CONSTANTLY coming back early from an injury only to re-injure and/or be ineffective. We have a new training staff. We have a new coaching staff. However, there is one guy sitting around here who has been here for some time, and would very clearly have a big impact on the culture of the organization.

Hell, it's the same guy Souray said pressured him to play.

[Andrew]

Re: Hemsky was playing with concussion symptoms.

Thanks Q, someone needed to say it. Wow

[stamphater]

Re: Hemsky was playing with concussion symptoms.

Directly?

Eh. Hard to say.

Indirectly?

Hard to imagine how not. The Oilers very clearly have a culture problem. Guys are CONSTANTLY coming back early from an injury only to re-injure and/or be ineffective. We have a new training staff. We have a new coaching staff. However, there is one guy sitting around here who has been here for some time, and would very clearly have a big impact on the culture of the organization.

Hell, it's the same guy Souray said pressured him to play.

You are swinging for the fences and striking out on this one. And correct me if I'm wrong but I believe Souray was referring to Tambo in his rant and not Klowe. The Oilers are a last place this team; I just don't believe they are rushing guys back or purposely letting guys play injured. Just don't believe it.

[PDO]

Re: Hemsky was playing with concussion symptoms.

You are swinging for the fences and striking out on this one. And correct me if I'm wrong but I believe Souray was referring to Tambo in his rant and not Klowe. The Oilers are a last place this team; I just don't believe they are rushing guys back or purposely letting guys play injured. Just don't believe it.

Tambo wasn't part of this organization when we signed Souray.

So far this year we've had Brownlee report that Whitney looked like his ankle was giving him problems (few days later he's shelved for the season), Hemsky come back early from a groin and reinjure it, and now Hemsky play with concussion symptoms (per Stauffer, Principe and Matty....).

It's the same story every year.

Hell, how much damage did Horcoff do to his MCL when he went back out to "try it out?"

The culture of the organization is 100% on upper management. It has to be instilled into everyone that if you're hurt, you're ****ing hurt, and useless to the team until you're healthy.

[budha]

Re: Hemsky was playing with concussion symptoms.

IF Hemsky was not saying anything, then he has only himself to blame. Everyone needs to be better educated on this subject. It shoudl be a rule that if a player recieves a concusion then they have to sit out a minimun of the next game. When players have been forced to retire becuase of the number of concusions that they have taken (Bret and Eric LIndros and Pat LaFontaine come to mind right away) everyone needs to ge their heads out of their collective butts.

[stamphater]

Re: Hemsky was playing with concussion symptoms.

Everything I've read says the Oilers were forced to pull him out and that Hemmer wanted to continue playing. PDO, again doesn't stand up to what you are claiming.

[stamphater]

Re: Hemsky was playing with concussion symptoms.

Tambo wasn't part of this organization when we signed Souray.

So far this year we've had Brownlee report that Whitney looked like his ankle was giving him problems (few days later he's shelved for the season), Hemsky come back early from a groin and reinjure it, and now Hemsky play with concussion symptoms (per Stauffer, Principe and Matty....).

It's the same story every year.

Hell, how much damage did Horcoff do to his MCL when he went back out to "try it out?"

The culture of the organization is 100% on upper management. It has to be instilled into everyone that if you're hurt, you're ****ing hurt, and useless to the team until you're healthy.

Every team has players that come back from injuries. You can't just sit guys until they are 100% because if you did then most players would only play about 40 games a year...if that.

[Esks4ever]

Re: Hemsky was playing with concussion symptoms.

Habs Max Pacioretty is planning on playing Friday despite bruised ribs

Pats QB Brady was listed on the Patriots' injury report with a foot injury for the last eight regular-season games and its playoff game but played in all of them. He also was listed with a right shoulder injury in those games, as he has been for several years. Now he's facing surgery.

Damn those Management people forcing players to play