Chris Pronger reveals blockbuster trade that would have sent him to the Leafs, but the Maple Leafs refused to give up this player
Earlier this week before Sportsnet's broadcast of the Maple Leafs against the New York Islanders, Chris Pronger joined the broadcast team and revealed a past blockbuster trade that would have sent him from the Edmonton Oilers to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In the offseason of 2006, the Oilers ended up trading Pronger to the Anaheim Ducks in return for a massive package, including Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smith, and the draft pick rights to Jordan Eberle and Travis Hamonic. Pronger mentioned that 6 months earlier, around the trade deadline of that season, the Leafs made a serious push to acquire him, and even revealed the pieces included.
Toronto was content with their offer of Thomas Kaberle, Matt Stajan, and two first round draft picks. The Oilers insisted on including Alex Steen in the place of Stajan, and the Leafs declined. The deal was broken by the involvement of Steen, who was traded just 6 months later to the St. Louis Blues for Lee Stempniak. Matt Stajan went on to become a big piece for the Leafs in the trade that brought Dion Phaneuf to Toronto.
It's incredible to have the retrospective view on these trades, with the full career of everyone involved in mind. Looking at it now, the Leafs had no business acquiring an aging Pronger with the quality of team they had at the time, but also botched the value of Alex Steen, something Leaf fans know well.
It's also incredible to see Pronger know all the details of players involved of potential trades he was involved in over 15 years ago. Pronger has been getting more and more involved in the game on the side of player advocacy in recent years, with some speculation that he may be eyeing the job of being Donald Fehr's replacement as head of the NHLPA.
| POLL | ||
Who is the worst General Manager in the past two decades for the Maple Leafs? | ||
| John Ferguson Jr. | 59 | 48.4 % |
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| Other | 18 | 14.8 % |
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