Friday, June 30, 2006
I've Been Done Pronged!
Chris Pronger will hold a news conference on Tuesday, setting the record straight on why he asked to be traded from the Oilers. According to the story, Pronger is "annoyed and disappointed with the misinformation and lies being bandied about through the media regarding his professional life in Edmonton and personal life in general." Umm, am I the only one who thinks maybe Pronger should have thought of that before he skipped town and left his agent to do the half-talking? Pronger and his agent used the media to leak his desire to leave Edmonton, and undermined his GM in the process. And now they want to blame the media? They also gave the most vague, empty, and ambiguous reason ever for leaving. I've known gay men who were straighter. Nature abhors a vacuum, and Pronger's excuse was void of any tangibility. It's not surprising that people drew their own conclusions, especially given that a week before his request was made Pronger was aboard the S.S. Good Times with the rest of us. I'm sorry, but Chris Pronger has no one to blame on this but himself.
More importantly, the story says that five teams are currently dealing with the Oilers, attempting to get a deal done before tomorrow. One the one hand, that relieves me, because this thing will soon all be over. On the other hand, it scares the crap out of me, as it likely indicates that teams want to get a deal done before no-trade clauses kick in. I say it again, if we get stuck with Kaberle and Steen, my time on this site is over. I'll be dead in a ditch. Now if we pick up Marty Turco...
Hat tip to Spector for the link.
P.S. Keep it reasonable, or I'll delete your ass. That means you, Anonymouse.
More importantly, the story says that five teams are currently dealing with the Oilers, attempting to get a deal done before tomorrow. One the one hand, that relieves me, because this thing will soon all be over. On the other hand, it scares the crap out of me, as it likely indicates that teams want to get a deal done before no-trade clauses kick in. I say it again, if we get stuck with Kaberle and Steen, my time on this site is over. I'll be dead in a ditch. Now if we pick up Marty Turco...
Hat tip to Spector for the link.
P.S. Keep it reasonable, or I'll delete your ass. That means you, Anonymouse.
# posted by andy grabia @ 4:58 pm 
Comments:
You can't wronged by a medium, only through one. Hadley should name names or stow it.
The only part about this that I somewhat disagree with is the notion that the Oil are screwed because of the media leak.
I think what the Oil want is somewhat of a public bidding war for arguably a d-man who is in the top 3 in the league. Private shopping won't yield the best results, in my opinion.
I would be a bit concerned also by this (self-imposed?) one-day deadline, however, I think letting a team get screwed a little bit by a UFA going elsewhere would help the bidding process, at least from the Oil's perspective.
Don't go jumping off no bridges, Grabia. Even if you don't get four bullets straight up in a trade, there is enough ammunition out there for Lowe to re-stock.
I am giddy with anticipation. The true story although I like Black Dog Hates Skunks take...
I say it was success that scared him... For the dolts that don't quite get it. Edmonton took a flyer on player that played 5 games the last season the NHL played. They gave him the security of a 5 Y deal. Then he back doors the GM.. well he does deserve the the general harmless rumours, although I really don't think Stan Weir did it...
From Hadley's site:
Having a great deal of respect for Pronger… I will not deal with this issue anymore… simply stated; he was wronged by the media in Western Canada.
That's rich. I suppose Hadley couldn't find a broader brush than Western Canada, what with the possibility of Pronger ending up in TO. (cripes I hope not...the return from TO would be awful).
Coincidently (in the same way the leak coincidently came out just before the draft), Morris and/or Pronger refuse to contact anyone in the Edmonton media. Morris goes on the FAN590, not a peep to Edmonton. Pronger apparently talks frequently to St. Louis, but not a sniff to anyone in the Edmonton media. Pronger's camp is so out of touch, they think fans are only upset at the thought someone doesn't like living in Edmonton. Whatever. Guess they're ignorant of Oiler history, and the long littany of star players leaving town. Yeah, Pronger is a valuable asset, but no chance they get full value back. Especially if the Maple Leafs are involved. It's about the Oil getting screwed yet again... (and I have full confidence in KLowe).
Last I checked, all the nasty stuff was running rampant on message boards on the web. The "Western Canadian media" were extremely reserved in comparison. Not a single urban legend crap story to be found. Yet Pronger was wronged?
Then again, on TotalSports, Hadley claimed to have a personal relationship with Pronger. Last week Strickland claimed the same. Perhaps Pronger's expectations of the media are more than a little warped...
In any case, you said it best:
>>I'm sorry, but Chris Pronger has no one to blame on this but himself.<<
- Rod
@earl:
>>The only part about this that I somewhat disagree with is the notion that the Oil are screwed because of the media leak.<<
The leak hurts the Oilers ability to receive fair value, nevermind full value for a few reasons:
1. Everybody "knows" he won't play here again. The Oil have to accept a deal from somebody.
2. Pronger asked for a five year deal in Edmonton, and got it. A year in, he wants out (as per the leak). Why would the new team believe he'd stay for the rest of his contract? Evidence shows he could pull this stunt again. Upon signing, Pronger gave Oiler management every indication he'd stay here five years...
3. While this last reason isn't relevant anymore, it's still a reason the leak was bad. The Pronger camp just happened to release this leak just before the draft...in which St.Louis just happened to have the #1 pick. Any chance they were hoping to push KLowe into a quick deal? Thankfully KLowe didn't bite, but the leak was timed then for a reason.
Without the leak, KLowe could contact teams, indicate that *if* Pronger was to be moved, their team has players Lowe is interested in... GMs may well have spread/leaked that story, so a rumour may have sprouted (so auction still could have happened), but the consequences wouldn't affect the return. From the perspective of a trading partner, there's a huge difference between a team shopping a player, and a player wanting out.
The leak a very real potential to detrimentally affect what KLowe can get in return, for what should have been a marquee asset...
- Rod
Rod, I would say that trading Pronger under any circumstances makes it difficult to get fair value back in a trade, simply because the salary (especially towards the end of the deal) in relation to the player value is so attractive.
I doubt Pronger 'pulls this again' for a variety of reasons; if I'm a GM that doesn't concern me that much, I guess.
I wasn't aware about #3; I was cut off from the world for about two weeks so the timing of this leak didn't really click until you mentioned it.
Still, I think Lowe can make the best of this, regardless of the leak. Sure it's a bad situation (trading a valuable player under a reasonable contract always is), but I would rather it be public knowledge than private.
I don't think the best deal available happens today, however. Wait until somebody gets screwed.
earl, maybe Pronger doesn't *want* to play in Edmonton again, but come hell or high water, there's a valid contract that he signed, and I'm pretty sure there's no clause in there that says "Chris Pronger must be traded if he asks for it." So his desires are irrelevant. I have no doubt in my mind that if Lowe can't get a deal he likes before next September, Pronger will be expected to show up at camp with bells on. Whatever he or his family thinks of the city or the team or whatever went on, he signed a contract and he has to live up to it, one way or another.
So yes, while it is in the team's best interest for Lowe to trade him, unless he's utterly out of his mind he (and the 30 GMs in the league) has to realize that he might very well still be an Oiler for the start of next season.
you guys would have been beyond lucky to get Kaberle and steen for that useless piece of Gold medal losing Pronger. thank whatever god is out there the Leafs didn't make that deal...phew!
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You can't wronged by a medium, only through one. Hadley should name names or stow it.
# posted by 
: June 30, 2006 5:32 pm
: June 30, 2006 5:32 pm 
The only part about this that I somewhat disagree with is the notion that the Oil are screwed because of the media leak.
I think what the Oil want is somewhat of a public bidding war for arguably a d-man who is in the top 3 in the league. Private shopping won't yield the best results, in my opinion.
I would be a bit concerned also by this (self-imposed?) one-day deadline, however, I think letting a team get screwed a little bit by a UFA going elsewhere would help the bidding process, at least from the Oil's perspective.
Don't go jumping off no bridges, Grabia. Even if you don't get four bullets straight up in a trade, there is enough ammunition out there for Lowe to re-stock.
I am giddy with anticipation. The true story although I like Black Dog Hates Skunks take...
I say it was success that scared him... For the dolts that don't quite get it. Edmonton took a flyer on player that played 5 games the last season the NHL played. They gave him the security of a 5 Y deal. Then he back doors the GM.. well he does deserve the the general harmless rumours, although I really don't think Stan Weir did it...
From Hadley's site:
Having a great deal of respect for Pronger… I will not deal with this issue anymore… simply stated; he was wronged by the media in Western Canada.
That's rich. I suppose Hadley couldn't find a broader brush than Western Canada, what with the possibility of Pronger ending up in TO. (cripes I hope not...the return from TO would be awful).
Coincidently (in the same way the leak coincidently came out just before the draft), Morris and/or Pronger refuse to contact anyone in the Edmonton media. Morris goes on the FAN590, not a peep to Edmonton. Pronger apparently talks frequently to St. Louis, but not a sniff to anyone in the Edmonton media. Pronger's camp is so out of touch, they think fans are only upset at the thought someone doesn't like living in Edmonton. Whatever. Guess they're ignorant of Oiler history, and the long littany of star players leaving town. Yeah, Pronger is a valuable asset, but no chance they get full value back. Especially if the Maple Leafs are involved. It's about the Oil getting screwed yet again... (and I have full confidence in KLowe).
Last I checked, all the nasty stuff was running rampant on message boards on the web. The "Western Canadian media" were extremely reserved in comparison. Not a single urban legend crap story to be found. Yet Pronger was wronged?
Then again, on TotalSports, Hadley claimed to have a personal relationship with Pronger. Last week Strickland claimed the same. Perhaps Pronger's expectations of the media are more than a little warped...
In any case, you said it best:
>>I'm sorry, but Chris Pronger has no one to blame on this but himself.<<
- Rod
# posted by : June 30, 2006 7:04 pm
: June 30, 2006 7:04 pm @earl:
>>The only part about this that I somewhat disagree with is the notion that the Oil are screwed because of the media leak.<<
The leak hurts the Oilers ability to receive fair value, nevermind full value for a few reasons:
1. Everybody "knows" he won't play here again. The Oil have to accept a deal from somebody.
2. Pronger asked for a five year deal in Edmonton, and got it. A year in, he wants out (as per the leak). Why would the new team believe he'd stay for the rest of his contract? Evidence shows he could pull this stunt again. Upon signing, Pronger gave Oiler management every indication he'd stay here five years...
3. While this last reason isn't relevant anymore, it's still a reason the leak was bad. The Pronger camp just happened to release this leak just before the draft...in which St.Louis just happened to have the #1 pick. Any chance they were hoping to push KLowe into a quick deal? Thankfully KLowe didn't bite, but the leak was timed then for a reason.
Without the leak, KLowe could contact teams, indicate that *if* Pronger was to be moved, their team has players Lowe is interested in... GMs may well have spread/leaked that story, so a rumour may have sprouted (so auction still could have happened), but the consequences wouldn't affect the return. From the perspective of a trading partner, there's a huge difference between a team shopping a player, and a player wanting out.
The leak a very real potential to detrimentally affect what KLowe can get in return, for what should have been a marquee asset...
- Rod
# posted by : June 30, 2006 7:22 pm
: June 30, 2006 7:22 pm Rod, I would say that trading Pronger under any circumstances makes it difficult to get fair value back in a trade, simply because the salary (especially towards the end of the deal) in relation to the player value is so attractive.
I doubt Pronger 'pulls this again' for a variety of reasons; if I'm a GM that doesn't concern me that much, I guess.
I wasn't aware about #3; I was cut off from the world for about two weeks so the timing of this leak didn't really click until you mentioned it.
Still, I think Lowe can make the best of this, regardless of the leak. Sure it's a bad situation (trading a valuable player under a reasonable contract always is), but I would rather it be public knowledge than private.
I don't think the best deal available happens today, however. Wait until somebody gets screwed.
earl, maybe Pronger doesn't *want* to play in Edmonton again, but come hell or high water, there's a valid contract that he signed, and I'm pretty sure there's no clause in there that says "Chris Pronger must be traded if he asks for it." So his desires are irrelevant. I have no doubt in my mind that if Lowe can't get a deal he likes before next September, Pronger will be expected to show up at camp with bells on. Whatever he or his family thinks of the city or the team or whatever went on, he signed a contract and he has to live up to it, one way or another.
So yes, while it is in the team's best interest for Lowe to trade him, unless he's utterly out of his mind he (and the 30 GMs in the league) has to realize that he might very well still be an Oiler for the start of next season.
# posted by : July 01, 2006 8:46 am
: July 01, 2006 8:46 am you guys would have been beyond lucky to get Kaberle and steen for that useless piece of Gold medal losing Pronger. thank whatever god is out there the Leafs didn't make that deal...phew!
# posted by : July 03, 2006 8:41 am
: July 03, 2006 8:41 am Post a Comment
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