Oilers Chris Pronger and Miachael Peca
Pronger came to Edmonton in an offseason trade; Peca signed as an unrestricted free agent. The high-priced veterans haven’t been able to do much with the Oilers, who had lost seven straight before beating Dallas 5-3 on Friday. Pronger, who has overcome a bushel of injuries the past few years, remains the bedrock defenseman, but his work on the power play hasn’t been impressive. Peca, the former Selke Trophy winner as the league’s best defensive forward, has been called on to contribute more offensively with Edmonton, and that’s not out of line given his $3.99 million salary, the opening of the game and his skills. But he had only one goal and three assists through the first 10 games and figuratively was scratching his head after the 5-3 loss in Denver.
Peca on adjusting to the new rules and standards: “The things that I’ve brought to my game in 10 years, well, I think I can still be as effective now with them due to the high speed of the game. I’ve never done it with hooking and holding. I was never big enough to slow the guys down that way, so I always had to rely on speed and a quick stick. They gave me an opportunity not to worry about (as much defensive responsibility) coming into the season, but it’s not easy to just change your mentality. As much as I looked at the opportunity here as a great one for me, it’s not as easy as I thought it would be. In the past, I knew what I was doing every single night, I knew what my role was, and then I came in here. I’m not completely comfortable with what I’m doing and getting caught halfway a lot of the time.”
Pronger on the Oilers looking for their identity: “I don’t think our template’s changed one bit. Bringing in Pecs and myself, we still have a very similar team to the team here two years ago. We expected to move up, but we have a hard-working team that has to do it that way. We’re not going to finesse teams. We’re not going to tick-tack-toe it like (Joe) Sakic, (Milan) Hejduk and (Alex) Tanguay.
“We’re going to outwork the other team and be physical and use our speed and get in on the forecheck, and do it that way. We’re not going to pick you apart. We’re going to wear you down.”
