Maybe I missed this the first go around, but how did Monahan ever get to the point where the team thought it was ok for him to be playing through 4 injuries in the first place? In the interest of his long-term health like Bingo alluded to, would not it have been better to just shut him down before it got that bad? Again, I don't know the backstory to this (if any), but it sounds a little like compromised care on the part of the Flames Medical staff, and perhaps Monahan's ability to play through injuries.
And in circumstances where there is significant off-season surgery and rehab, how do players go through medical to get an "all clear" to play?
Do players just lie just to get back ASAP to be ready for camp and opening night, even if they are not ready? Do players even have control over this, or is it completely out of their hands?
I'm assuming players, even of Monahan's caliber (or more recently, Hamonic, given his opening night face fracture) still have to go through a few practices so the coach can give the final OK, but this situation is interesting to me because I really have no idea...
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