Would Edmonton Oilers Fans Ever Want Chris Pronger Back?

"There's nothing in this world so sweet as love. And next to love, the sweetest thing is hate." —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Edmonton Oilers' fan base in 2006 reached the epoch of both love and hate. At the end and during the Stanley Cup playoffs, they loved Chris Pronger.

Then came the hate.

At times, Edmonton hates its own players better than anyone else.  The fans boo almost every former player. In a few cases the boos are meant; sometimes they are not, usually because players are given the benefit of the doubt during their time in the city.

Chris Pronger was beloved; from the moment he stepped out onto the lawn at the Oilers team offices, fans were excited. Many people got his number on their jersey, and many more were just excited to have a superstar player again.

Then in January 2006, Pronger, for family reasons, asked for a trade. General Manager Kevin Lowe, thinking it was more of an issue of the team not winning, decided to wait and see what happened.

In the process of Lowe's caution, both the Oilers and Pronger had their most successful playoff years in a long time.

So, issue settled.

Of course that is not true, Pronger after the finals asked to be traded, his team friendly contract and his leadership was gone.  In his place, a selection of trades for various players leading eventually to Patrick O'Sullivan.

The Pronger trade led eventually to the desperate choice by Lowe to go after Dustin Penner, leaving a scorched earth for everyone.

Rather than run down the trail of tears and hate that saw Pronger exit and malign the city, while the city aimed right back, the focus of this article is to ask a question: Would Oilers fans take him back?

It has been a discussion among the Oilers fan forums, and the consensus is that in a dream situation, they would consider taking back Pronger.

I cannot think of any player who created more animosity who could still be considered so highly by these same fans. Yes, even with all the accusations, rumors and fallout, there is a group who want him back.

One fan forum had its members saying that they would take him back in a "New York minute."

No mistake that Pronger has been a world-class player, and if I had my selection of defensemen, he certainly would be a Top 10. 

Reading the opinions of these fans, one wonders whether this remorse comes from the fiasco that has been the Oilers since the Stanley Cup run.

Pronger is now three years older than he was in 2006, he has depleting skills, and a selection of issues with his temper on the ice which might make him less attractive.

I suspect if other general managers thought him key to their cup run he might have been moved a long time ago. 

Pronger has not reached his totals in 2005-06 during the regular season, in games played, assists, he has hardly played to the same level. 

While Pronger has been within range of those totals, this is a player who is now in his mid thirties, he will have less and less to offer as time goes on.  So having him back makes little sense to the team at this stage.

If one asked me which former Oiler I think most would regret running out of town, I would actually pick Jason Arnott. He has proved to be a very good player, and while he did not live up to the superstar status of his high draft pick, he has been an excellent leader for a few teams.