OT: If an Oiler ever pulled a Lebron James

[OilerFan4Life]

Hard to relate because:

-None of our kids are born and raised in Edmonton.
-None of our kids are considered by far and away the best player in the game.

But hypthetically...let's say an Oiler pulled a LeBron James...left the city and won a few rings elsewhere but then potentially looked at returning home....how would Oiler fans react?

I guess Pronger in recent memory is the closest thing to this...his exit was almost as bad as Lebrons because he wasn't a free agent but he also didn't host a TV special with local kids in the background lol.

So summer of 2010....Pronger completes his 5 year deal and is a UFA...we've just drafted Taylor Hall 1st overall (like Wiggins in Cleveland) and rumors are out there that Pronger might return to Edmonton.

How would you react?

Click to read more...

 

[joestevens29]

Take him back in a second.

 

[OilerFan4Life]

Take him back in a second.

I agree.

From twitter reaction, most Cavaliers fans have forgotten about Lebron's "decision" and will take him back with open arms.

 

[Replacement*]

I disagree. How helpful would Mark Messier part 2 or 3 be?

How helpful was it re; any of the glory Oilers coming back either as players or in the org fold?

Yesterdays are that and sometimes better to move on. Theres of course exceptions.

But this is fanbased endeavor, not wall street. If a player told a fanbase to suck it and went elsewhere and then wanted to come back they should be questioned upon return.

As in why did they leave. if the answer is strictly money and not to do with anything else I wouldn't particularly welcome them back.

Its that mercenary nature of pro sports that imo is somewhat offputting

"I couldn't afford to stay here"

Oh sure you could, without even using foodbanks..

 

[joestevens29]

I disagree. How helpful would Mark Messier part 2 or 3 be?

How helpful was it re; any of the glory Oilers coming back either as players or in the org fold?

Yesterdays are that and sometimes better to move on. Theres of course exceptions.

But this is fanbased endeavor, not wall street. If a player told a fanbase to suck it and went elsewhere and then wanted to come back they should be questioned upon return.

As in why did they leave. if the answer is strictly money and not to do with anything else I wouldn't particularly welcome them back.

Its that mercenary nature of pro sports that imo is somewhat offputting

"I couldn't afford to stay here"

Oh sure you could, without even using foodbanks..

Fans might be a bit hesitant at first, but once we'd start winning not many would care.

We brought Comrie back and that didn't seem to be much of an issue, and he wasn't even elite at the time we brought him back.

 

[OilerFan4Life]

I disagree. How helpful would Mark Messier part 2 or 3 be?

How helpful was it re; any of the glory Oilers coming back either as players or in the org fold?

Yesterdays are that and sometimes better to move on. Theres of course exceptions.

But this is fanbased endeavor, not wall street. If a player told a fanbase to suck it and went elsewhere and then wanted to come back they should be questioned upon return.

As in why did they leave. if the answer is strictly money and not to do with anything else I wouldn't particularly welcome them back.

Its that mercenary nature of pro sports that imo is somewhat offputting

Lebron is only 29 and would be returning to Cleveland very much in his prime as opposed to being over the hill like Messier might have been in the late 90s.

 

[OilerFan4Life]

Fans might be a bit hesitant at first, but once we'd start winning not many would care.

We brought Comrie back and that didn't seem to be much of an issue, and he wasn't even elite at the time we brought him back.

The reaction in the crowd during his first goal in that pre-season game was epic. It was the loudest I've heard Rexall since the Stefan idiocy and subsequent Hemsky goal.

 

[CornKicker]

Fans might be a bit hesitant at first, but once we'd start winning not many would care.

We brought Comrie back and that didn't seem to be much of an issue, and he wasn't even elite at the time we brought him back.

i was going to post we took comrie back.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

We bring back most of our top players. The only difference between the LeBron situation and the Oilers situation is our players come back as managers.

 

[Replacement*]

Fans might be a bit hesitant at first, but once we'd start winning not many would care.

We brought Comrie back and that didn't seem to be much of an issue, and he wasn't even elite at the time we brought him back.

The org was an absolute joke at the time and nothing much that they would do would cause us to think worse about how the club was run. Plus that a lot of the fans thought Lowe and guys like Nicholls threw Comrie under the bus in the first place after one particular playoffs and then there was the infamous Lowe "Comrie should pay his way out of his contract" gambit

I think a lot of people thought the org, rather than Comrie, were the zeros in that instance. Like I said, the exceptions would be when he initial departure had mixed reasons, or was a ****show in the first place.

 

[OilerFan4Life]

The org was an absolute joke at the time and nothing much that they would do would cause us to think worse about how the club was run. Plus that a lot of the fans thought Lowe and guys like Nicholls threw Comrie under the bus in the first place after one particular playoffs and then there was the infamous Lowe "Comrie should pay his way out of his contract" gambit

I think a lot of people thought the org, rather than Comrie, were the zeros in that instance.

Not true based on talk radio at the time. I remember listening to Stauffer's drive home show on 1260 and fans were LIVID with Comrie.

Daily Doug, amazingly, was the only one blaming management.

 

[Replacement*]

Not true based on talk radio at the time. I remember listening to Stauffer's drive home show on 1260 and fans were LIVID with Comrie.

Daily Doug, amazingly, was the only one blaming management.

Well, there were people here that pointed out that it was a bad idea for Lowe to expect comrie to pay out of a contract. It also cost us a great potential trade..

I didn't particularly like Comrie after awhile but I didn't like the way the Oil handled things either.

This was leading into a contractual impasse between NHL and NHLPA at the time and the Comrie saga was the org trying to play big small market precedent in lieu of the upcoming labor impasse. My feeling always is that the Oilers used Comrie case to make a shot off the bow at the NHLPA.

Always struck me as odd and that agents, players wouldn't take kindly to it. I don't recall one precedent for what Lowe did there.

Also, lets keep in mind what kind of audience of listeners would Stauffer have? Pro org fans I would say.

 

[bone]

i was going to post we took comrie back.

Was jumping in as well to mention Comrie. Very similar situation, local boy joins amongst great fanfare, relationship goes sour, guy leaves and is booed mercilessly as an opponent, returns and everyone cheers him on almost louder than normal. Comrie was never the caliber of a Lebron, but this example shows that we would have forgiven and forgotten very quickly.

 

[oilphan]

uh...94?

 

[Supermassive]

Pronger was the only truly great thing to happen to this franchise in the last twentysome years.

Open arms.

 

[Soundwave]

I'd take Pronger back no questions asked if he could still play.

 

[5 14 6 1]

Take him back in a second.

Yup!

 

[OilerFan4Life]

uh...94?

Link to Smytty insulting the city and embarrassing the franchise like Lebron did?

Funny that both Smyth and Comrie's exits were more to do with Lowe being a *****....also, remember that class act Cal Nichols and his inappropriate comments regarding Pronger and divorcing his wife?

 

[Trafalgar Sadge Law]

Fans would be lukewarm at first, but when the puck drops and the player plays well, I think we'd forget pretty quickly.

 

[MoneyGuy]

What I'd really like to see is Iggy sign to finish his career here. The explosion at CP would be awesome.

 

[rboomercat90]

Link to Smytty insulting the city and embarrassing the franchise like Lebron did?

Funny that both Smyth and Comrie's exits were more to do with Lowe being a *****....also, remember that class act Cal Nichols and his inappropriate comments regarding Pronger and divorcing his wife?

No professional athlete ever burned a city the way Lebron burned Cleveland. I can't imagine what it must have been like for Cavs fans. I'm guessing the feelings would of been similar to when Gretzky left us only that Wayne tried to do it with as much humility and class as he possibly could. Lebron took the other route. I know how much it hurt to watch Gretzky break all those big records as a King and especially when they always seemed to happen against the Oilers. Cavs fans must have been disgusted watching him finally win those two titles in Miami. A lot of time has passed and Lebron has matured a lot and undoubtedly regrets leaving the way that he did.

There are probably a significant number of fans who would welcome him back with open arms hoping he can bring them a championship but I think there would also be a lot that would never forgive him and would let him know about it every day especially if they couldn't

 

[Playa Hejda]

I'd take Pronger back no questions asked if he could still play.

I'd take Pronger back now even with his balance and head problems. At worst he's an improvement on or number 5.

 

[Replacement*]

Being that I wouldn't even care much about Lebron james the first go around what did he say about Cleveland?

That it rocked?

 

[MoneyGuy]

I'd take Pronger back now even with his balance and head problems. At worst he's an improvement on or number 5.

Me, too. I imagine his kids have outgrown their cribs by now.

 

[McShogun99]

I wonder if Taylor Hall will get his own 1 hour special on CBC if he ever decides to sign with another team?