{allcanada} Weight of his shoulders

 

Saying he felt like the "weight of the world" had been lifted from his shoulders, outcast Edmonton Oilers defenceman Sheldon Souray practised Friday for the first time with his new team, the minor-league Hershey Bears.

It is the first time the 34-year-old former NHL all-star has spoken publicly since being loaned to the Washington Capitals American Hockey League affiliate. The Oilers made the move after Souray cleared waivers earlier this week.

"(It's been) a long few months of kind of being in turmoil with my situation," Souray told reporters in Hershey. "For me it's like a fresh start. I feel re-energized."

"I feel like a lot of the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders."

At least three times in the interview, Souray said he was happy to be joining a "winning" and "healthy" environment. The Oilers finished dead last in the NHL last season.

Souray's assignment to Hershey is the latest in a protracted separation from the team.

In April, he told sportsnet.ca's Mark Spector he wanted to be traded, in part because the felt the team had "soured"on him. He also said Oilers management pressured him to return from a shoulder injury too soon last season. He re-injured it six games into the season and missed the next 55 games.

Unable to trade him over the summer, the Oilers told Souray to stay away from September's training camp as GM Steve Tambellini continued to try to find a trading partner. However, with two years remaining on a contract that comes with a cap hit of $5.4 million, there were no takers.

Souray wouldn't talk about his battle with the Oilers, except to say, "it hasn't ended up the way I would have liked."

The move to the AHL takes Souray's $5.4-million cap hit off of Edmonton's books as the 2010-11 season begins, though they are still on the hook for his $4.5 million salary.

Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos said Thursday that he expects Souray to be put on re-entry waivers in the next couple of weeks, so that the Oilers can again attempt to trade him, or he is picked up by another team. Should a team claim him, Souray's salary and cap hit would be split with the Oilers for the remaining two years of his contract.

Another possibility is that the Oilers leave Souray in the AHL until the end of the 2010-11 season. At that point re-entry waivers no longer apply, and with just one year left on his contract, Tambellini could perhaps realize a decent return in a Souray trade.

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