In the good days a local kid not only made the Edmonton Oilers, he got paid well above the average kid with some upside did at the time. When Mike Comrie left the Kootenay Ice in the middle of the season it was because the Oilers offered the kid a 3 year 10 million dollar contract to do so. He didn’t disappoint. Comrie went on to put up 133 points in 192 games and in doing so became a home town hero. So when he decided to hold out in 2003 you can imagine the size of the knife most fans in Edmonton accused Comrie of stabbing them in the back with. In the years that followed Comrie was considered public enemy #1. He was booed relentlessly when playing hockey in Edmonton, rumours that weren’t even close to true tarnished his reputation further, and Comrie bashing took place up until just two weeks back.
Than, as we all know, one of the more ironic twists in Oilers hockey took place on September 10. The Edmonton Oilers and Mike Comrie kissed and made up, as Comrie signed a 1 year deal worth $1.125 million. The possibility of Comrie and the Oilers considering the contract had been rumored for up to two weeks before it actually happened. Conversations leading up to the signing where split down the middle for and against the Comrie coming back to the team. Sadly most that were against Comrie coming back biggest argument was that he was a little baby that screwed Edmonton, so why would the Oilers want him back? Conversely some that wanted Comrie back had some kind of pipe dream that signing Comrie would be like the Oilers getting the top 3 player the Oilers tried to acquire in Dany Heatley, so needless to say the opinion was all over the map.
The more reserved opinion was one that had pros and cons in having Mike Comrie back in the Oiler lineup. That’s where I fall. The Oilers needed another small forward in their top 6 like a fat kid needs another cheeseburger. So part of me didn’t like this signing. However, there are some pretty solid pros, with the first being they only paid the guy 1.125 million. In the NHL that’s really next to nothing, so if Mike Comrie amounts to nothing, the Oilers haven’t risked much, if anything. The flip side to that coin is that Comrie’s upside translates into a 50-60 point player. If Comrie scores 20 goals and 20 assists the Oilers did good and if I was betting I say he is a 40 point player at the very least. He could put up more, depending on who he plays with this season. A final positive is something the Oilers may have spent a million on just in itself just to get help with, Mike Comrie can win faceoffs, something that plagued the Oilers all of last season. So far in pre-season hockey the 29 year old Comrie leads the Oilers with 6 points in 2 games. He got in a fight and has 17,000 in Rexall cant his name. He has said, and so far done, the right things on and off the ice to make the fans in Edmonton warm to having him here, all that is left is to see what he can bring once everything counts.
Is Mike Comrie the answer to all of the Edmonton Oilers woes? No, he isn’t. He could however turn out to be a bigger piece to the puzzle then most might think. Only time will tell.
Then again, this is just another damned opinion.
