Hall-of-Famer reveals how close he was to becoming a Leaf
The season after the 2004-2005 lockout saw the Edmonton Oilers land Hall of Famer Chris Pronger, who helped lead the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final where they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes. Following the season, the Oilers traded Pronger to Anaheim where he went on to win the Stanley Cup the next season. Pronger would spend two additional seasons in Anaheim before spending the final three seasons of his career in Philadelphia.
Pronger was a guest on TSN1050's First Up this morning, and one of the things that he had discussed with Carlo Colaiacovo and Aaron Korolnek was the rumours that circulated in the off-season when he was traded to Anaheim that he was close to becoming a Leaf.
According to reports at the time, the offer the Leafs had on the table was Matt Stajan and 2007 and 2008 first-round picks (which became Lars Eller and Luke Schenn) for Pronger. However, the Oilers countered by asking the Leafs to include Alex Steen instead of Stajan which the Leafs refused to do. They would trade Steen to St. Louis the following season anyway.
While hindsight is 20/20, the Leafs had an opportunity to add one of the meanest and best defensemen to play the game for next to nothing. It was one of the many moves that John Ferguson Jr. did or didn't make that sent the Leafs into years of rebuilding and disappointment. It remains one of the organization's biggest gaffes to this day.
| POLL | ||
4 OCTOBRE | 313 ANSWERS Hall-of-Famer reveals how close he was to becoming a Leaf Is not trading for Chris Pronger the worst mistake the Leafs ever made? | ||
| No | 116 | 37.1 % |
| Yes | 76 | 24.3 % |
| It's up there for sure | 121 | 38.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
