Sidney Crosby spoke to the media on Monday March 14, 2011 about his status and while sounding strong, even positive, the superstar Pittsburgh Penguin captain said he had "no clue" when he would be returning to NHL action.
Crosby skated in Pittsburgh for 15 minutes in the morning and said he felt okay after the skate, and was feeling okay during the interview, but he noted that the symptoms he has been experiencing more often come later in the day, after exertion. However he is able now, he said, to do things around the house without symptoms. He is not yet close to coming back to play.
Sidney Crosby Injury Update: Riding Bike, First Skate
Crosby has been back doing light exercise but this was his first time on skates since the injury on January 5. He was actually hurt twice, with the knock to the head he took from David Steckel, then of the Washington Capitals, now with New Jersey, in the Winter Classic January 1 considered to be the beginnings of his concussion problems.
He played in the third period of that game and in Pittsburgh's next game on January 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. In that game Crosby was slammed into the boards right behind the net by Lightning defenceman Victor Hedman and his head hit the plexiglass. Today was the first time he has been on the ice since that incident. In total he's missed 29 games and counting.
Crosby Injury Has Fans, NHL, Take Notice
Since Crosby's injury there has arguably more of an outcry about concussions in the NHL. A month after he was hurt Marc Savard was shut down for the season by the Boston Bruin medical staff and since then there have been other concussions, most notably the hit on Max Pacioretty by Bruin Zdeno Chara. The NHL brass are in meetings in Florida this week and head shots are high on the agenda.
At the Florida meeting, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman released a five-point plan to combat concussions that includes a new, more stringent policy for when a player has had a head injury during a game and the forming of a committee to look into the issue; committee members would include Brendan Shanahan and Steve Yzerman.
Sidney Crosby on NHL, Head Shots
During his press conference Crosby was asked to give his views on shots to the head and he gave a measured answer that seemed to encapsulate the challenge the NHL is faced with.
“There’s got to be, obviously, some clarity and everything’s got to be looked at as far as how you do that,” he said. “It’s a pretty fast game and there may be times when guys don’t target the head and they may come in contact with the head, so what do you do in that situation? So banning them would be the easiest, I guess, and the safest route. But at the same time, there are times when there is going to be accidental contact and how do you deal with that?
“But as far as targeting the head, yeah. No matter if it’s from the blindside or straight on, if someone targets the head, then yeah, I think that should be banned.”
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