Sunday 'could be last game' as Oiler: Moreau
By ROBERT TYCHKOWSKI
At some point before Sunday night’s game, or maybe as time winds down in the third period, Ethan Moreau and Steve Staios will take one last look around Rexall Place.
This is the final home game before the March 3 NHL trade deadline and two of the veterans on Steve Tambellini’s trading block are well aware that this might be their farewell performance in copper and blue.
“It could be my last game,” said Moreau, who joined the Oilers on March 20, 1999 and became their captain before the 2007 season. “I’ll probably think about it Saturday. I always try to prepare for things that I can control, and this is an uncertainty that I can’t control, but yeah, there is a very real possibility that this is my last game as an Oiler.”
Same with Staios. He and Moreau and their families will be flying to Maui over the break, along with a personal trainer, to strengthen up for the stretch run, wherever that might be.
They both have long histories in Edmonton, highlighted, of course, by the run to the Stanley Cup final, but with Edmonton in a rebuilding mode that’s going to take several years to complete they know full well that veterans are expendable.
“You have to be realistic,” said Staios, 36. “In the situation we’re in, that’s what tends to happen. I’m sure (getting traded) will cross my mind a little bit over the break.
“For me. it’s a little bit of an uncertain time, but I’ve been through this before and my experience will help me focus on the right direction.
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Edmonton/2010/02/14/12873306.html