My Too Brief Summer Delusional Fantasies
I had a brief fantasy this summer about trading Sergei Gonchar and a prospect for Chris Pronger. Such a fantasy did not come to fruition (for reasons that should be abundantly clear being that such a fantasy was rooted in the ultimate unreality of dreamland). My theory was that a defenseman of Pronger’s quality could have turned my 2006-07 Pens into a team that squeezes into the playoffs and then who knows what happens. Meanwhile, back in the land of reality, I understood clearly that trading for Pronger would likely have entailed giving up one of the young players who will hopefully become a key member of a future Pens championship team. I understood that my Penguins aren’t in position now to give up a piece of the future just for a chance to be a "bubble-playoff" team next year. Sure, Shero is right to wait on trading for pieces like Pronger until the Pens are legitimately close—not close just to making the playoffs but close to contending for the Cup. Nevertheless, my brief summer sojourn of fantasizing about a legitimate #1 defenseman on the Penguins point was an enjoyable escape from the icky reality of having watched an AHL defense for the past few years.
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