RUMOUR QUELCHED: Souray did not request a trade out of Edmonton
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sport...399/story.html
Souray shoots down rumour
Oilers defenceman hasn't talked to GM Tambellini about anything
Sheldon Souray doesn't know how or where the story started that he wanted out of Edmonton, but it's got the legs of Andrew Cogliano.
Souray, who has one of the NHL's most wicked slappers, shot it down Thursday before speaking to a team of local novice hockey players who won a dinner and Q & A with the Oilers defenceman in Scotiabank's national initiative to salute the kids.
"I've been getting phone calls from here ... my mum called me to ask about it. Who knows where it's coming from?" said Souray, who has three years left on his Oilers contract and says he's had no conversations with general manager Steve Tambellini.
Souray's children live in Los Angeles with their mother, which might have fuelled the trade-me speculation, but when he signed here in 2007, he said he was over the moon to be coming home to play for the team he idolized as a kid.
"Our stalls aren't even cold yet," he said. "I'm not worrying about it (the rumour). I don't think it deserves talking about. It doesn't deserve a no or deserve a yes. It's fodder for the media.
"If it was something I was feeling, I wouldn't voice it through the media anyway." Souray, who represented the Oilers in the all-star game and finished with 23 goals and 53 points, has been through coach firings before in Montreal. It always stings. There's always questions in a hockey city, because people care.
"It's nothing new for me but for the city and the fans and a lot of players who were with Mac (ex-head coach Craig MacTavish) for a number of years, there's been a status quo with the organization," said Souray.
"For some guys, it affects them differently but, for me, I've been down this road. The grass isn't always greener. Sometimes a change can be positive. We'll see how it works out." Souray only had MacTavish for two years. He got along well with him. Was he a players' coach? "I'm not really sure. I wasn't here long enough to make that assessment, but he was always fair with me. Some players would say he was a players' coach, some of them might say he's a non-communicator," said Souray.
"I'm sure he wishes we'd had different results," said Souray.
"He was here a long time and I'm sure he was as frustrated as everybody else. For sure, there was a collective sense of emptiness when the season ended ... I know I wish I was better and could have helped the team more." When teams remove a coach and bring in a new face and a new voice, there's always an adjustment period. Players will be coming and going, too. It's the nature of the business.
"A lot of times, people are afraid of change. You don't really get anywhere by staying put. Sometimes when you change too much, you lose your direction, but I know Steve Tambellini and the organization are aware of the areas that need to be addressed and I'm sure they'll address them," said Souray.
Souray can't believe how it came off the rails this season, how the team stumbled so badly down the stretch and conspired to play itself out of the playoffs when it was in a comfortable position. That was very hard to stomach.
"You don't have a lot of kicks to win. Whenever a year slips by, it's another wasted opportunity," said Souray.
Maybe, if the Oilers had made it and gone out in four games in the first round, the fans would still have been ticked. But Souray wanted the experience.
"You have to be realistic ... there's 29 other teams that want to win the Cup, and you don't have a chance unless you get in. If you go four and out, well, you still had a chance," said Souray. "I think the fans and the players and the organization would have been excited to be in the playoffs, no matter what.
"All I know is we haven't been playing for two weeks now, and there's teams still playing with the chance to realize a lifelong dream. Going four and out or losing Game 7 of the finals, does it sting any less?"
jmatheson@thejournal.canwest.com
Souray shoots down rumour
Oilers defenceman hasn't talked to GM Tambellini about anything
Sheldon Souray doesn't know how or where the story started that he wanted out of Edmonton, but it's got the legs of Andrew Cogliano.
Souray, who has one of the NHL's most wicked slappers, shot it down Thursday before speaking to a team of local novice hockey players who won a dinner and Q & A with the Oilers defenceman in Scotiabank's national initiative to salute the kids.
"I've been getting phone calls from here ... my mum called me to ask about it. Who knows where it's coming from?" said Souray, who has three years left on his Oilers contract and says he's had no conversations with general manager Steve Tambellini.
Souray's children live in Los Angeles with their mother, which might have fuelled the trade-me speculation, but when he signed here in 2007, he said he was over the moon to be coming home to play for the team he idolized as a kid.
"Our stalls aren't even cold yet," he said. "I'm not worrying about it (the rumour). I don't think it deserves talking about. It doesn't deserve a no or deserve a yes. It's fodder for the media.
"If it was something I was feeling, I wouldn't voice it through the media anyway." Souray, who represented the Oilers in the all-star game and finished with 23 goals and 53 points, has been through coach firings before in Montreal. It always stings. There's always questions in a hockey city, because people care.
"It's nothing new for me but for the city and the fans and a lot of players who were with Mac (ex-head coach Craig MacTavish) for a number of years, there's been a status quo with the organization," said Souray.
"For some guys, it affects them differently but, for me, I've been down this road. The grass isn't always greener. Sometimes a change can be positive. We'll see how it works out." Souray only had MacTavish for two years. He got along well with him. Was he a players' coach? "I'm not really sure. I wasn't here long enough to make that assessment, but he was always fair with me. Some players would say he was a players' coach, some of them might say he's a non-communicator," said Souray.
"I'm sure he wishes we'd had different results," said Souray.
"He was here a long time and I'm sure he was as frustrated as everybody else. For sure, there was a collective sense of emptiness when the season ended ... I know I wish I was better and could have helped the team more." When teams remove a coach and bring in a new face and a new voice, there's always an adjustment period. Players will be coming and going, too. It's the nature of the business.
"A lot of times, people are afraid of change. You don't really get anywhere by staying put. Sometimes when you change too much, you lose your direction, but I know Steve Tambellini and the organization are aware of the areas that need to be addressed and I'm sure they'll address them," said Souray.
Souray can't believe how it came off the rails this season, how the team stumbled so badly down the stretch and conspired to play itself out of the playoffs when it was in a comfortable position. That was very hard to stomach.
"You don't have a lot of kicks to win. Whenever a year slips by, it's another wasted opportunity," said Souray.
Maybe, if the Oilers had made it and gone out in four games in the first round, the fans would still have been ticked. But Souray wanted the experience.
"You have to be realistic ... there's 29 other teams that want to win the Cup, and you don't have a chance unless you get in. If you go four and out, well, you still had a chance," said Souray. "I think the fans and the players and the organization would have been excited to be in the playoffs, no matter what.
"All I know is we haven't been playing for two weeks now, and there's teams still playing with the chance to realize a lifelong dream. Going four and out or losing Game 7 of the finals, does it sting any less?"
jmatheson@thejournal.canwest.com
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