The Rangers are doing the right thing with Marc Staal. A concussion is an evil bigot, and it is a pain to truly know when you are ready to get back in the action again. With Staal, who is one the Rangers single most valuable skaters, the Rangers decided to err on the side of caution, which is the only choice they could make that would not endanger Staal’s health and possibly the Rangers season.
A long term injury to Staal could be devastating to the Rangers. While we don’t know for sure how serious this is, we do know that having him sit out keeps him out of harms way. The fact that he missed all of yesterday’s skate, on the other hand, is a big cause for concern. Staal has been cleared for contact, but his “fluid” issues make the red flags jump up from all around.
So, what do the Rangers do from here? Well, they do what they have been doing, which is be cautious, and monitor him 24/7. Concussions can get nasty (see: Crosby, Cindy), and the Rangers can ill afford to have one of their most experienced defensemen, and their best defenseman, go down long term.
What should we as fans do? Well, take a step back from the ledge for starters. Remember, he has been cleared to play and been cleared for contact. Of course, that can change at any moment, but as of the penning of this post (6pm, 9/19), all we know is that he had a concussion, has been cleared to play, was held back for precautionary reasons, and has some fluids.
I have to be honest here, we need to stop referring to things as “fluid issues”. It just sounds wrong, and to be blunt, I feel weird typing the word fluid this many times in one post.
Fluid.
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