\u201cBut where I take issue is how casually Edmonton is folded into that story as though it were merely an inconvenience tied to what he now describes as a \u2018drunken decision.’\u201d<\/p>\n
In his post, Lowe wrote he feels he handled those 11 months \u201cthe way I always tried to: professionally, responsibly, and in good faith.\u201d Pronger\u2019s telling of the story, however, has him feeling otherwise.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking back, hearing how he frames it today, I find myself wishing I had handled it differently,\u201d Lowe wrote. \u201cQuite frankly, I wish I had said no and let him sit out rather than accommodate a decision he now seems so quick to diminish.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Pronger\u2019s book, he details how his acquisition by the Oilers caught him, and his wife, Lauren, off guard. With the Oilers not wanting to pay Pronger<\/a> the $7.3 million qualifying offer he was due, the team and Pronger\u2019s agent got to work on a new contract. Hours later, with Lauren asleep and Pronger still celebrating a friend\u2019s birthday party at 2 a.m., Pronger approved the five-year extension under the influence, and without consulting his wife.<\/p>\n \u201cYou made a five-year commitment about our lives without talking to me? While you were drunk?\u201d Pronger\u2019s book said of his wife\u2019s reaction, adding that Lauren didn\u2019t hate Canada, but rather had been upset about the decision being made without talking to her. Nevertheless, Pronger said by November of that season, he already knew he would be forcing the Oilers to trade him the following summer.<\/p>\n Lowe, however, took objection.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat makes this even harder to reconcile is what followed immediately after (the contract being signed),\u201d Lowe said. \u201cThe day after the agreement, I received a personal note from his wife expressing how excited they both were about coming to Edmonton. That sentiment doesn\u2019t align with the version of events being portrayed now.<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps at the time he was trying to reset the narrative or distance himself from circulating rumours ,but it stands in stark contrast to what\u2019s being shared today.<\/p>\n \u201cEdmonton is a first class city with passionate fans and a proud hockey tradition. It is not a punchline, and it is not something to be explained away years later.\u201d<\/p>\n It should be no surprise to see Lowe\u2019s staunch support of the Edmonton market. He is, after all, the first draft pick in franchise history, the organization\u2019s games-played leader, and a five-time Cup winner in the city.<\/p>\n Pronger wasn\u2019t the first player to leave Edmonton on disgruntled terms, and he certainly won\u2019t be the last. Hockey is a business, after all, and sometimes tough business decisions need to be made by the organization. What happened with Doug Weight and Bill Guerin<\/a> are good examples, with both being unceremoniously shipped off to greener pastures.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2023, the night before Doug Weight\u2019s induction into the Edmonton Oilers Hall of Fame, I had the privilege of joining Doug, Bill Guerin, and their families for a private dinner,\u201d wrote Lowe. \u201cBoth spoke glowingly about the city of Edmonton and how pivotal it was to their careers and how meaningful it was to their family lives. That has been the experience for the vast majority of players who have come through here.\u201d<\/p>\n Shots fired.<\/p>\n Zach Laing is Oilersnation\u2019s managing editor, and The Nation Network\u2019s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report<\/a>. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing<\/a>, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.PRESENTED BY THE NATION NETWORK\u2019S PLAYOFF COVERAGE![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SPE-PDE-Playoffs26-Promos_727x404_v2.png\")
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\nThe Nation Network is your ultimate playoff headquarters. From expert shows and deep-dive articles, to live social updates, analytics, and fantasy insights\u2014we cover every moment. Whether it\u2019s epic goals, big hits, or game-changing plays, we\u2019ve got you covered. One Network. Every moment. Tune in to the Oilersnation<\/a> and Daily Faceoff YouTube channels!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2018I wish I said no\u2019: Ex-Oilers GM Kevin Lowe responds to Pronger\u2019s contract regret As the general manager…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":605399,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194294],"tags":[49,48,23752],"class_list":["post-605398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-edmonton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=605398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/605399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=605398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=605398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=605398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}