Pronger wants to be traded: report

Oilers defenceman Chris Pronger apparently isn't happy in Edmonton and has reportedly asked to be traded.

On the eve of the NHL draft that will be held Saturday night in Vancouver, several reports suggest Pronger wants to leave Edmonton for "personal, family considerations."

Pronger had a brilliant first season with the Oilers, leading the team in post-season scoring that resulted in a Stanley Cup run for Edmonton.

The Oilers lost a heartbreaking 3-1 decision to the Carolina Hurricanes Monday night in the seventh and deciding game.

But Pronger was a tower of strength for the Oilers as he logged more than 30 minutes of ice time throughout the playoffs and was also a Conn Smythe Trophy candidate.

Pronger still has four more years on a contract that will pay him $6.25 million US a season.

"I think they're more rumblings than anything," Oilers GM Kevin Lowe responded Friday evening. "I'm pretty focused on the draft right now. I don't want to get too much into player personnel stuff."

When asked if Pronger had demanded to be dealt, Lowe responded: "He hasn't asked me. I'll just leave it at that."

Pronger scored 12 goals and 56 points in 80 regular season games this season and added another 19 points in the post-season.

"We just got over a seven-game series in the Stanley Cup finals and there seems to be a lot of discussion about this and I'm not sure where it's coming from," said Lowe. "Let's put it this way. Why would we want to trade Chris Pronger?

"One thing I've learned in my five or six years as a manager is that stuff tends to out of right field for whatever reasons. It can be agendas, hidden agendas, certain motivations, so nothing surprises me."

The Oilers acquired Pronger in an off-season trade last August for defencemen Eric Brewer, Doug Lynch and Jeff Woywitka.