from Mark Zwolinski and Joseph Hall of the Toronto Star,

A gruesome skate-to-the-face gash on Taylor Hall’s forehead may well put helmets on all Toronto Maple Leafs during the team’s pre-game warm-ups.

“I’m thinking about it,” said coach Ron Wilson when asked if he’d make helmets mandatory.

“You look at what happened (to Hall) and it was scary, it could have been a lot worse. The silliness of having a bare head and not worrying about it? I will look into it, I will talk to (GM Brian Burke) and of course I’ll talk to the players.”

Hall, an Oilers winger, needed about 30 stitches to close his gaping head wound, which happened when teammate Corey Potter tried to leap over Hall after he’d fallen to the boards Tuesday night.

Potter didn’t quite make it, and his blade landed across the top of Hall’s helmetless head prior to the team’s tilt in Columbus.

The NHL’s collective bargaining agreement gives coaches the final word on pre-game helmets. Wilson said mandating their use only makes sense, given the dangers that lurk on the ice, even during the warm-ups.

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