As some friends and I watched Chris Pronger skate around the ice with his gold medal, we talked about how his life has basically been a morality play with no moral. If Dickens were to re-write “A Christmas Carol”, setting it at Christmas of 2005 with Chris Pronger in the role of Ebeneezer Scrooge, what would he have seen when the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come visited him in an attempt to convince him not to demand a trade from the Oilers and give quote after quote that reveals him to be something of a self-involved jerk? A trip to the Stanley Cup finals in 2006, a Stanley Cup championship in 2007, a $35MM contract from the Philadelphia Flyers in 2009 and a gold medal in 2010? It lacks a bit of the emotional punch that comes from a vision of your own untended grave.
I kicked this around with Cosh, who referenced Unforgiven and suggested that everyone gets it in the end and that we’ve all got it coming. This came to mind when I saw that Lubomir Visnovsky, Denis Grebeshkov and Steve Staios had been traded while Ethan Moreau, who was widely thought to be leaving and seemed pretty eager to go, is stuck in Edmonton until at least the summer. Moreau’s been giving off a “none of this is my fault” vibe for about two years now, which is unseemly when it comes from the captain, particularly when he, in his own way, is at fault for a lot of what’s gone on here.
If the Oilers are going to suck - and they are - why should Moreau be set free to enjoy the delights of playing games that matter after November? If we’re stuck following this horror show, Moreau should have to ride it to the bottom. To go from “For some teams it might be a bonus because they can get me for next year, too,” and checking the depth charts of contenders to see where you might fit in to the stark realization that your employer was desperate to get rid of you and couldn’t find a taker, let alone a buyer…well, that’s got to be a kick in the ego.
If it leads to a period of introspection, followed by a humbled Moreau who starts worrying about things like his predilection for obscene offensive zone penalties and asks first what more he can do for his team…well, it might have a happy ending for all involved, with Moreau rehabilitating his reputation with the fans in Edmonton before being dealt to a contender for the obligatory second round pick. If not, at least he’s going to be forced to endure the Oilers with the rest of us.