Taylor Hall Out 2-4 Weeks

Just before the start of last night's game, the story that was making the rounds was that Taylor Hall would be out of action for a week to ten days, with a shoulder injury. It seemed almost to good to be true. Everyone saw the same thing, him skate off the ice with his arm dangling at his side Saturday night...there is no way that he would miss just a couple of weeks. It had to be longer then that...didn't it?

After the team managed to drop a 2-1 decision to the visiting Nashville Predators, Head Coach Tom Renney was asked about Hall's status during his post game press conference. To which he responded, "Left shoulder injury, 2 to 4 weeks". Nothing more, nothing less.

Taylor Hall also spoke to the media after the game and a link to those comments are below:


Taylor Hall Injury Update


So with Hall likely gone for close to a month, he will be missing some where in the neighourhood of eleven games. Is there a chance that he returns closer to the two week time period, opposed to the four? Sure but you would have to think the organization will lean towards being cautious with his return. Best case scenario, would likely have him on the sidelines for three weeks.

Edmonton used forward Magnus Paajarvi in Hall's spot, with Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff, against the Preds on Monday night, and the results were less then stellar. Look for Paajarvi to get another shot come Wednesday night but the coaching staff won't take long to look elsewhere, if the Swede continues to struggle. Some other options at their disposal, would be moving one of Sam Gagner or Ryan Jones into a top six role or possibly having a look at Anton Lander on the wing, which seems less likely.

Another area they club may look to for help, would be Oklahoma City. The Barons currently have the AHL's top goal scorer, in left winger Philippe Cornet and while he may not be the "sexy choice", he might be the right choice, if no one on the current roster can get the job done. Cornet already has 15 goals on the season, with six of them coming with the man advantage. Left winger who can put the puck in the net...I would say having a look, would definitely make sense.