The Edmonton Oilers haven’t stopped paying Taylor Hall his NHL salary just yet, according to the Edmonton Journal.
Although he’s skating with the AHL Oklahoma City Barons, he’s still in the final stages of his recovery from a shoulder injury and won’t play until November.
“It’s a bit of a weird situation…I know I just signed for $42 million but everybody knows I love to play no matter what they pay me, and right now they’re paying me when I’m not playing,” Hall said. Just to clarify, Hall’s seven-year, $42 million contract doesn’t begin until the 2013-14 campaign.
Hall isn’t eligible to play for the Barons until he travels back to Edmonton to get medical clearance.
For now, he’s expected to take his involvement in practices to a new level next week. That’s when he’ll start participating in one-on-one drills, as well as a variety of others to test his shoulder.
“I did take some face-offs yesterday (Friday) and today (Saturday),” Hall said. “I did another drill where I had my arm extended, holding off somebody. I couldn’t do that last season (his shoulder was in bad shape even before Colorado’s Ryan Wilson stapled him into the boards in Denver 11 months ago). The shoulder feels strong.”
When he’s finally given the green light, he’ll join Justin Schultz, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Jordan Eberle as part of the AHL Oklahoma City Barons. That is, of course, unless the NHL and union have a change of heart over the next few days and sign a new CBA.