Clarke MacArthur 'not ready for the next chapter,' wants to keep playing

Clarke MacArthur says he still has “logs burning on the fire,” and that he’s not ready to walk away from hockey after suffering yet another concussion that’s sidelined him.

One month after taking a hit in an intrasquad game from Patrick Sieloff, MacArthur spoke to reporters Friday and said while he’s feeling better, he still is experiencing concussion symptoms. He’s feeling well enough to skate and is waiting on doctors to give him the green light to return. He’ll even join the Senators on their three-game road trip beginning this weekend. That post-hockey career will have to remain on hold.

“I’m going to set up a landscaping company at some point here, but not yet, so I’m going to keep going,” MacArthur said.

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The hit from Sieloff drew an angry response from teammate Bobby Ryan, who went after the rookie. MacArthur, who now has suffered four concussions in the last year and a half and played only four games in 2015-16, said he spoke to the rookie a few days later and understands he was playing hard to make the team.

“He’s a young guy and probably didn’t know the situation I was in,” he said. “That’s all behind. I have no ill wishes on him or anything like that. So it’s move on, he’s a part of this team and organization. That’s the way it is.”

The 31-year-old MacArthur still has three more seasons left on his deal beyond this one and will wait as long as he can to be fully cleared to resume playing again.

“I just feel at my age I still have a lot to give,” he said. “I’m not ready for the next chapter yet, so I’m going to continue with this one if I can.”

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy