Despite latest concussion, Clarke MacArthur not ready to hang up his skates

Ottawa Senators forward Clarke MacArthur says he's not ready to give up on his NHL career despite suffering another concussion in the fall, and says his recovery has been much quicker than last year.

"I still got logs burning on the fire. I'm not ready to do something else," he told reporters Friday in the locker room at the Canadian Tire Centre. "I'm going to set up a landscaping company at some point here, but not yet. So I'll keep coming."

MacArthur, 31, was diagnosed with a concussion in September after taking a hit during a training camp scrimmage. It was his fourth concussion in 18 months.

He missed most of last season due to post-concussion symptoms after a hit on Oct. 14 in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. This time, MacArthur said, the symptoms have been much milder.

"My vision issue I had with my left eye last year never came back, and the headaches throughout the day [have] been a lot better than [during] the previous one," he said.

MacArthur said at the time of the hit last month, he feared the worst.

"I remember just kind of looking straight up at the bright lights, like I was at a Kiss concert or something," he said. "I kind of put two and two together [about] what happened, and I was upset obviously. Just going through what I went through last year, I was just praying it wasn't going to be the same thing. And so far, things have been a lot better and moving along a lot quicker."

MacArthur, a popular veteran with the team, was hit during the scrimmage by defenceman Patrick Sieloff, who was acquired from the Calgary Flames in exchange for Alex Chiasson this past June and was looking to make an impression with the organization.

Other players on the team were clearly upset with the hit after it happened.

MacArthur to accompany team on road

MacArthur joked on Friday that it was "a great hit" and said he understood why it happened.

"I talked to him a couple days later and you know ... am I happy with it? Obviously ... I'd love to have not took that hit," he said.

"At the same time, I know what he was doing. He was trying to make a team. He was a young guy and probably didn't know the situation I was in. So that's all good and behind [us] ... obviously I have no ill wishes on him," he said.

MacArthur has been skating with the team but hasn't been cleared to practice.

"I take my information from the doctors. We're taking this a step at a time, and if they say I'm OK to play, I want to keep playing," he said.

In the meantime, he'll accompany his Senators teammates next week on their three-game western road trip.

"It'll be good," he said of the trip. "It's healthy for me to do that."