In what stands as a classic case of letting bygones be bygones, Comrie and the Oilers have settled their differences to the point where I believe the ink is a formality and the unlikeliest of do-overs will begin when Comrie reports for training camp physicals Saturday.
>>Robin Brownlee, Oilers Nation
Pretty interesting tale there, revisiting just how messy Mike Comrie's original divorce from the Oilers was.
Comrie never had any such public mess with the
Islanders -- though falling under the veil of
Scott Gordon's "bad apples" comment sure wasn't pretty. It's interesting that, despite his talent, so few tears were shed upon his departure at the trade deadline. It seems his name is rarely brought up since. Good riddance to him and
his toe drag? Quite possibly. [
Update: It's a done deal, the Oilers have announced.]
As Brownlee muses in the piece linked above, Comrie probably had some growing up to do away from the Edmonton spotlight. I guess now he's ready to return to his home. For what it's worth, he did
take the high road after the trade to Ottawa. (What did it say that the Islanders preferred the expiring veteran contract of
Dean McAmmond to the expiring not-so-veteran-influence of Comrie? A lot, I suspect.)
But for me, Comrie has always been a player who overvalued his talent and importance on a team. He signed with the Isles not to join an Islanders resurrecton but to try to prove once and for all he could be a 1A/2 center for surely the only team that offered him $4 million. Even disregarding the hip injury that affected his final year, that proof simply never emerged.
Frankly, my best memory of him as an Islander came in his first two games -- that home-and-home season opening set with the
Sabres a couple of years ago under Ted Nolan, when the 2007-08 signings looked okay. After that, not much.
If he does sign in Edmonton, and if he does feel at peace with a less prominent role, maybe it will work out for him. But, I mean, you watched him for a couple of years ... do you think it will?
