Ben Eager returned to action on Monday October 17.

Ben Eager (concussion) has been given the green light to participate in contact drills. That's a big step forward for Eager, although he still hasn't been cleared to return to the Oilers' lineup. The team's medical staff will meet with him again this weekend.

Ben Eager will in fact miss Sunday's season opener against Pittsburgh. He is still dealing with post-concussion symptoms. Keep Eager on reserve until further notice.

Ben Eager (whiplash/concussion) could miss the opening game on October 9 versus Pittsburgh. Eager, who thinks his injury is more whiplash than concussion, has yet to practice since his injury on Sept. 18. "He definitely won't play Friday in Minnesota and I think it's doubtful in Vancouver," head coach Tom Renney said. "I want to be prudent with this one. I want to see how his fitness is right now, more than anything else. And if he's not fit to play I won't play him. If he's medically cleared that's one thing, but he also has to be fit because you put a player in a dangerous situation, otherwise." Eager has value only in the penalty minute category so drat him late if you need minutes.

Ben Eager thinks his current injury is more whiplash than it is a concussion. "I've been feeling great the last few days, had a lot of good treatement from the trainers here," said Eager. "I've been getting as much rest as needed, hopefully get on the bike, see how I feel and maybe go on the ice in the next couple of days." Eager said the headaches started to go away once his neck loosened up. We'll keep you posted.

Ben Eager is dealing with a concussion and whiplash. Eager sustained the injury when he collided into Kirill Tulupov on Sunday and he missed Tuesday's preseason contest as a result. "It's not severe," said Oilers head coach Tom Renney. "Usually, with these things, it's a week minimum, but Ben sailed through his baseline test (measuring the cognitive awareness after taking a blow to the head). He's feeling better." That's certainly a good sign, but we've seen instances of concussions initially being reported as minor, but resulting in a player missing a lot of playing time. Hopefully, that won't be the case with Eager.

The Edmonton Oilers have signed enforcer Ben Eager to a three-year/$3.4 million contract. The Oilers needed some toughness with their bottom six forwards and certainly got free agency off to a good start by signing Eager. Eager had seven goals and 16 points in 60 games last season with 120 penalty minutes for the Sharks. He had 233 penalty minutes with the Flyers four years ago so he certainly knows where the penalty box is. Look for 15-20 points and 150-plus minutes for Eager in Edmonton and draft him accordingly.