Obviously with the new draftees, Taylor Hall. We lost Prongs ( Chris Pronger) and then it just started to filter on after that," he said.
"When we left it was the year (after) we went to the cup. Smyth joins an Oilers team that is going in a different direction to the one he left in 2007.
I just want to bring my leadership and wherever Tom (Renney) and the coaching staff want me to play I'll play." I stayed healthy, which was the number one thing. "I still have a lot to offer," Smyth said. The six-foot-two, 192-pounder is 12th on Edmonton's all-time scoring list with 549 points (265 goals, 284 assists.)įraser is due to make $825,000 next season after finishing last season with three goals, two assists and 60 penalty minutes in 67 games with the Oilers last season. He spent over a decade with the team before being dealt to the New York Islanders in a surprise deadline deal in February 2007. He started his NHL career with the Oilers in 1994-'95 when Edmonton drafted him sixth overall in the 1994 draft. Smyth had 23 goals and 24 assists in 82 games last season with Los Angeles. I hope nothing but the best for the organization of the Kings and the fans." It was just a different lifestyle for my wife and I and my family to live in. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment down there. "I didn't want everything to explode to the level that it did. "My wife and I discussed it just after the end of the season and we really felt it would be best if we could orchestrate it, talk with Dean about it," he said. Smyth asked Kings general manager Dean Lombardi for the trade but didn't anticipate the circus that would surround it. We just felt it would be best for us to come back." That's where home is for us," Smyth said. "My wife and I discussed for a little while that we wanted to come back to Canada for personal reasons. Smyth and his family had been thinking about the possibility of moving for six weeks. "It was a pretty emotional ride but in the end I really believe this is where God wanted us to be. "It was almost like going through a boxing match, 12 rounds, and in the end finding out that you're appreciated in regards to being an Oiler again. "It was tough and it was exhausting," Smyth said on a conference call.
Smyth's proposed trade to Edmonton from Los Angeles had been rumoured for days, but hit several snags before the two sides eventually came to an agreement Sunday that saw the Oilers send the Kings forward Colin Fraser and a seventh-round draft choice in the 2012 NHL entry draft. EDMONTON - This past week has felt like a prize fight to Ryan Smyth.
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