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Originally posted by cinch
Well, tonight's the big night!
I can't say I like our chances... But at least it's only on pay-per-view, so I won't have to witness the massacre with my own eyes.
Ah, who am I kidding--I still have hope, and I'll be hanging on Rod Phillips' every (strangely delivered) word.
Well, tonight's the big night!
I can't say I like our chances... But at least it's only on pay-per-view, so I won't have to witness the massacre with my own eyes.
Ah, who am I kidding--I still have hope, and I'll be hanging on Rod Phillips' every (strangely delivered) word.
It's gonna be quite a show.
As for the Oilers chances... I like them. On paper they may be less than 50-50, but on any given night the offence can bring a bit iof hurt to an opposing goalie and any given night Rolie can steal one.
On the 'show' topic, I thought this was a good article.
Boo birds at the ready for Pronger
ALLAN MAKI
Globe and Mail Update
At their worst, the people of Edmonton would point at him and make rude remarks. Many accused him of being a spoiled brat, a money grubber and an ungrateful cad. There were jokes and rumours, and in every one, Mike Comrie came out on the wrong end of the shtick.
That's how it was for the kid who grew up hanging around the Edmonton Oilers and Wayne Gretzky before finally wearing the copper-and-blue: people loved him, then they loathed him. They hated the ice he skated on; they hated the Zamboni that made the ice he skated on — until that other no-good so and so came along.
In only one season, Chris Pronger did what no one in Edmonton could have imagined: he supplanted Comrie as the city's most hated hockey player. Pronger not only became Public Enemy No. 1, he knocked Comrie and former Oilers owner Peter Pocklington down the list. They were Jacob Marley to Pronger's Scrooge, accepted scoundrels compared with the truly odious defenceman who helped the Oilers reach the seventh game of the Stanley Cup final, only to push for a trade days later.
In Edmonton, that's as treasonous as it is unforgivable. Little wonder Pronger had this to say to the Edmonton Journal weeks after being dealt to the Anaheim Ducks: "I'm sure Mike Comrie was tickled pink in Phoenix when I left."
"I'd heard that," Comrie said of Pronger's assessment. "The funny thing was we played Anaheim in our second game of the season. He looked at me and he smirked as if to say, 'Now we've been through similar situations.' "
Comrie, who was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers and then the Phoenix Coyotes after a public contract spat with the Oilers, is the only man in the National Hockey League who knows what Pronger will face Tuesday when the 6-foot-6 defenceman makes his first return to Rexall Place.
For certain, the Edmonton-Anaheim game will be sold-out and the fans, already the noisiest in the NHL, will crank up the volume and their venom.
Some of that toxin bubbled over soon after the Oilers lost the seventh game to the Carolina Hurricanes and Pronger's agent began making cryptic comments about his client wanting out "for personal reasons." Instead of standing up and explaining himself, Pronger skipped town and went on vacation. It was the wrong call.
Gossip flowed; innocent bystanders were caught in the line of vile. There was talk of an extramarital affair, that Pronger had to leave Edmonton to save his marriage and family. Some suspected Pronger's wife, a native of St. Louis, Mo., couldn't take living so far north and issued an ultimatum. It was plausible, but not as juicy as a millionaire hockey player caught in a bad position.
Comrie endured much the same thing. There was speculation he had to be traded because he wasn't liked by his teammates and that he had indulged in an affair with a married woman. In the end, Comrie knew he had to leave even if it meant being hissed at by the same people who once cheered his every move.
"I wasn't that happy playing there and then dealing with the rumours that weren't true," he said. "You could ask five fans in the crowd why they were booing [me] and you'd get five different answers. That's part of the sports business. I understand that.
"But the thing is, if I was a bad guy, then I wouldn't have too many friends on that team, but I do — Ethan Moreau, Steve Staios, Jason Smith. I still have a lot of ties to Edmonton."
That, according to Comrie, is the chief difference between him and the new villain of Edmonton. Pronger can play and leave; Comrie has family and friends who attend Phoenix games in Edmonton and sit through the booing.
"The fans are obviously upset," Comrie said. "Half the reason they boo you is that they take it personally. They're passionate and they pay their money and buy tickets. But to be honest, it's a lot of propaganda in Edmonton."
By propaganda, Comrie meant the Oilers will always be revered while any player who asks for more money, holds out or demands a trade will be tarred and feathered, not that Comrie believes he was blameless in the whole episode.
"I should have come out and said, 'I'm not happy.' That was my mistake — not talking," he acknowledged. "I was waiting for a trade, then things escalated. It was a hard situation with a lot of drama that wasn't really needed."
Comrie is still booed in Edmonton whenever he touches the puck. Ironically, it's the same story in Calgary when he plays against the Flames. ("I thought they would have cheered me in Calgary for leaving Edmonton," Comrie said with a laugh.) But now a new rogue has emerged to earn Edmonton's icy scorn. As the hero turned colossal heel, Pronger has unleashed the full wrath of the Oilers' faithful, many of whom can't wait for Tuesday's comeuppance.
"Do you have any advice for Pronger?" Comrie was asked.
"Just go out and play."
Play like the devil, he could have added.
ALLAN MAKI
Globe and Mail Update
At their worst, the people of Edmonton would point at him and make rude remarks. Many accused him of being a spoiled brat, a money grubber and an ungrateful cad. There were jokes and rumours, and in every one, Mike Comrie came out on the wrong end of the shtick.
That's how it was for the kid who grew up hanging around the Edmonton Oilers and Wayne Gretzky before finally wearing the copper-and-blue: people loved him, then they loathed him. They hated the ice he skated on; they hated the Zamboni that made the ice he skated on — until that other no-good so and so came along.
In only one season, Chris Pronger did what no one in Edmonton could have imagined: he supplanted Comrie as the city's most hated hockey player. Pronger not only became Public Enemy No. 1, he knocked Comrie and former Oilers owner Peter Pocklington down the list. They were Jacob Marley to Pronger's Scrooge, accepted scoundrels compared with the truly odious defenceman who helped the Oilers reach the seventh game of the Stanley Cup final, only to push for a trade days later.
In Edmonton, that's as treasonous as it is unforgivable. Little wonder Pronger had this to say to the Edmonton Journal weeks after being dealt to the Anaheim Ducks: "I'm sure Mike Comrie was tickled pink in Phoenix when I left."
"I'd heard that," Comrie said of Pronger's assessment. "The funny thing was we played Anaheim in our second game of the season. He looked at me and he smirked as if to say, 'Now we've been through similar situations.' "
Comrie, who was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers and then the Phoenix Coyotes after a public contract spat with the Oilers, is the only man in the National Hockey League who knows what Pronger will face Tuesday when the 6-foot-6 defenceman makes his first return to Rexall Place.
For certain, the Edmonton-Anaheim game will be sold-out and the fans, already the noisiest in the NHL, will crank up the volume and their venom.
Some of that toxin bubbled over soon after the Oilers lost the seventh game to the Carolina Hurricanes and Pronger's agent began making cryptic comments about his client wanting out "for personal reasons." Instead of standing up and explaining himself, Pronger skipped town and went on vacation. It was the wrong call.
Gossip flowed; innocent bystanders were caught in the line of vile. There was talk of an extramarital affair, that Pronger had to leave Edmonton to save his marriage and family. Some suspected Pronger's wife, a native of St. Louis, Mo., couldn't take living so far north and issued an ultimatum. It was plausible, but not as juicy as a millionaire hockey player caught in a bad position.
Comrie endured much the same thing. There was speculation he had to be traded because he wasn't liked by his teammates and that he had indulged in an affair with a married woman. In the end, Comrie knew he had to leave even if it meant being hissed at by the same people who once cheered his every move.
"I wasn't that happy playing there and then dealing with the rumours that weren't true," he said. "You could ask five fans in the crowd why they were booing [me] and you'd get five different answers. That's part of the sports business. I understand that.
"But the thing is, if I was a bad guy, then I wouldn't have too many friends on that team, but I do — Ethan Moreau, Steve Staios, Jason Smith. I still have a lot of ties to Edmonton."
That, according to Comrie, is the chief difference between him and the new villain of Edmonton. Pronger can play and leave; Comrie has family and friends who attend Phoenix games in Edmonton and sit through the booing.
"The fans are obviously upset," Comrie said. "Half the reason they boo you is that they take it personally. They're passionate and they pay their money and buy tickets. But to be honest, it's a lot of propaganda in Edmonton."
By propaganda, Comrie meant the Oilers will always be revered while any player who asks for more money, holds out or demands a trade will be tarred and feathered, not that Comrie believes he was blameless in the whole episode.
"I should have come out and said, 'I'm not happy.' That was my mistake — not talking," he acknowledged. "I was waiting for a trade, then things escalated. It was a hard situation with a lot of drama that wasn't really needed."
Comrie is still booed in Edmonton whenever he touches the puck. Ironically, it's the same story in Calgary when he plays against the Flames. ("I thought they would have cheered me in Calgary for leaving Edmonton," Comrie said with a laugh.) But now a new rogue has emerged to earn Edmonton's icy scorn. As the hero turned colossal heel, Pronger has unleashed the full wrath of the Oilers' faithful, many of whom can't wait for Tuesday's comeuppance.
"Do you have any advice for Pronger?" Comrie was asked.
"Just go out and play."
Play like the devil, he could have added.
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