A Change of Scenery May Benefit Everyone In Provorov Trade

It may be fair to question if having a partner up and quit unexpectedly could have played a large part in Provorov's regression. Provorov would likely just shrug and say "it is what it is" and cite the fact hockey is still a business and you have to move on. No denying that's true, but it doesn't truly uncover his feelings so much as push them aside. But knowing that would be the likely response, we'll likely never truly know the answer, or how that experience played into Provorov's quick regression.

What is obvious, and can be answered, is past players who have struggled the way Provorov has over the last several seasons have joined a new team and regained their confidence and their will to win and turned into better athletes in the end. The adds the question will Provorov join that statistic, or is what we saw over the last 2 1/2 season just him?

Provorov may not have requested a trade, but he made it abundantly clear on exit interview day back in April that he wasn't exactly up for sitting through another rebuild. Forcing him do so because his contract requires it would likely have resulted in him becoming even more of a shell of his former self, possibly to the point of no return. Trading him as quickly as he did, and receiving the assets back was possibly one of the smartest moves Danny Briere could have made. Not just for the team, but for the player as well.

We'll have to wait another season or two to see if a change of scenery truly was all Provorov needed, or if what you saw in the last 2 1/2 years is just what you get with him.