Why did St. Louis trade Chris Pronger?

[Langdon Alger]

Pretty simple question, why was Pronger traded out of St. Louis? Was it money related? Something else? Was he an RFA when he was traded, or did he have one year left? I seem to remember him signing and extension when he got to Edmonton.

 

[Big Phil]

Pretty simple question, why was Pronger traded out of St. Louis? Was it money related? Something else? Was he an RFA when he was traded, or did he have one year left? I seem to remember him signing and extension when he got to Edmonton.

Honestly, it wasn't a bad trade at the time, it just hasn't aged well. Eric Brewer, Jeff Woywitka and Doug Lynch. The last one never played in the NHL, but Woywitka was definitely a highly thought of prospect and Brewer had played on Team Canada in 2002 and 2004 and did not look out of place. I think many people expected Brewer to keep thriving but he didn't.

I honestly can't remember, but since it was after the lockout was it a bit like a salary dump by St. Louis? Very strange considering Pronger had an excellent 2004 season.

 

[Michael Farkas]

One of the first cap casualties ever...well, of the modern salary cap at least...

 

[jghockey]

Salary cap.

 

[Stealth JD]

Because the jackass Bill Laurie was pissed off about his inability to bring an NBA team to STL that he decided it was no longer worth losing money on his hockey club. He and master baffoon Mark Lamping decided to strip the club down to the bare bones thinking it would make the club more attractive to potential suiters. They thought lower payroll was more attractive than expensive talent to buyers.

 

[GMR]

Because his wife was dying to move to Edmonton.

Honestly, though, it's one of the worst trades in recent memory and Eric Brewer was too overrated. How did Blues fans feel seeing Pronger playing in three Finals for three different teams after that time? That must have sucked.

 

[Sticks and Pucks]

Wasn't it because that Pronger, Tkachuk, and Weight had combined for 1/2 of the Blues' salary cap space? They had to move one of them and nobody wanted Tkachuk's or Weight's cap hit so it had to be Pronger.

 

[PizzaPietrangelo]

Because the jackass Bill Laurie was pissed off about his inability to bring an NBA team to STL that he decided it was no longer worth losing money on his hockey club. He and master baffoon Mark Lamping decided to strip the club down to the bare bones thinking it would make the club more attractive to potential suiters. They thought lower payroll was more attractive than expensive talent to buyers.

Wasn't it because that Pronger, Tkachuk, and Weight had combined for 1/2 of the Blues' salary cap space? They had to move one of them and nobody wanted Tkachuk's or Weight's cap hit so it had to be Pronger.

@Stealth JD is right about this one. The Blues' ownership at the time was exploring every option to sell off the team, and they thought that cutting the costs of one of the premier defencemen in the game was a good decision. As a Blues fan, I can confirm that it sucked watching Prongs play in three Cup Finals for three different teams after that. The time around that lock-out was the darkest time I can ever remember as a Blues fan.

 

[Langdon Alger]

@Stealth JD is right about this one. The Blues' ownership at the time was exploring every option to sell off the team, and they thought that cutting the costs of one of the premier defencemen in the game was a good decision. As a Blues fan, I can confirm that it sucked watching Prongs play in three Cup Finals for three different teams after that. The time around that lock-out was the darkest time I can ever remember as a Blues fan.

At the time of the trade were you satisfied with the return?

 

[ShelbyZ]

@Stealth JD is right about this one. The Blues' ownership at the time was exploring every option to sell off the team, and they thought that cutting the costs of one of the premier defencemen in the game was a good decision. As a Blues fan, I can confirm that it sucked watching Prongs play in three Cup Finals for three different teams after that. The time around that lock-out was the darkest time I can ever remember as a Blues fan.

I still remember watching the Red Wings first couple games after the lost season (a back to back home and home vs. the Blues) and scratching my head wondering why a team that was a perennial playoff threat in the West iced a line up that included a 32 year old "rookie" named Andy Roach...

Makes sense now.

 

[Passchendaele]

This is really strange seeing as MacInnis' 6 million deal was off the books. Tkachuk and Weight were both older and less important to the team.

 

[The Panther]

..a line up that included a 32 year old "rookie" named Andy Roach...

Wonder if he was any relation to the Roach brothers I went to Jr. High school with in Alberta?

Those Roach brothers scaled the walls of academia. They crawled their way into my memory banks.

 

[billybudd]

I think many people expected Brewer to keep thriving but he didn't.

I really, really never understood the fascination with Brewer. Derek Morris, either.

 

[Big Phil]

I really, really never understood the fascination with Brewer. Derek Morris, either.

Both were high draft picks. Brewer more so at 5th overall. I honestly think if Brewer could have utilized his talent he'd have been something else. He was big, could skate, could handle the puck, had good vision, I thought at least. Watch that goal he scored in the 2002 Olympics. He was young then, and defensemen weren't always encouraged to do the coast to coast thing in the dead puck era but he did it.

Morris, I never "got" the idea with him either. He never impressed me much. Jovanovski either. We kept waiting for him to be this Norris-type of defenseman and it never happened.

 

[PizzaPietrangelo]

At the time of the trade were you satisfied with the return?

For the reasons mentioned by others in this thread (i.e. Brewer's good-but-not-game-breaking skill level and Woywitka's boom/bust potential as a prospect), I can definitely state that I was not satisfied with the return. Prongs was, after all, a former Norris and Hart winner coming off a 54-point season.

I, and many Blues fans, have lamented the ownership decisions of Bill Laurie for a while now, and they still leave a bad taste in the mouth.

 

[Michael Farkas]

I think JovoCop was a dope, that was his flaw as I recall...

 

[NYR94]

I'm surprised St. Louis didn't get a single draft pick in return for Pronger. The Oilers and Ducks both received multiple picks when they traded Pronger.