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Why did Pronger leave Edmonton?

I was in Edmonton for work last year, and I asked that question to one of the local guys. His answer was that "His wife couldn't handle the fact that he was a bigger deal than she was"

I have no idea how true that is, but the fact remains that his wife was royalty in St. Louis and he was the best player on the city's least popular team.

Then, he goes to Edmonton where he is the big draw on the only team in town and she doesn't know anyone. I can imagine that the whole dynamic was a shock to everyone and difficult to adjust to.
 
I've lived in one city and one country my entire life. Going to the states is really tough for me, who is usually relaxed and aloof and really dislikes small talk. The whole social environment for all the places so far I've been to in the states is so much different. Maybe it's my personality type but I feel the need to be more guarded for lack of a better term and the only place I've felt comfortable with is Seattle.

Now imagine an American with that personality who lives farther down south, and moves to the northernmost city in North America with a major sports team. It's culture shock and it sucks, you can get over it if you are younger and patient but it's pretty understandable if you couldn't shake it.
 
jumptheshark said:
ignoring rumours and speculation

there is one thing to keep in perspective

About 2 months after Pronger's wife(Lauren Pronger) moved to Edmonton she moved back to St Louis. Pronger wanted to be near is wife, some guys actually like their wives and he decided that he wanted to be near is wife.

Lauren Pronger never his the fact she came from a certain background and it was not the same in Edmonton as she had elsewhere. She was and is not a typical hockey wife. She is a socialite and whether Edmonton likes it or not--it is a working man's town and while they have somethings socially--it was not up to her standards

http://edmontonjournal.com/sports/h...en-pronger-was-never-going-to-accept-edmonton
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St. Louis isn't a "socialite" city either....
 
Randy Marsh said:
I was in Edmonton for work last year, and I asked that question to one of the local guys. His answer was that "His wife couldn't handle the fact that he was a bigger deal than she was"

I have no idea how true that is, but the fact remains that his wife was royalty in St. Louis and he was the best player on the city's least popular team.

Then, he goes to Edmonton where he is the big draw on the only team in town and she doesn't know anyone. I can imagine that the whole dynamic was a shock to everyone and difficult to adjust to.
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I'm from Chicago and I have no idea who his wife is..... Never even heard of her until now.

I mean, I have spent plenty of time in St. Louis and it's not an artistocratic town at all... Chicago is more "socialite" than St. Louis....... As a matter of fact I would bet that St. Louis would be a good comparable to Edmonton... I've never been to Edmonton but I know enough about the city and St. Louis seems similar to the vision I have of Edmonton.
 
^ yeah the night life might be more book burnings than museum galas but when you own the plantation why would you move to somewhere where you don't?

for ex, i bet mike comrie ends up back in edmonton if he's not already back there.
 
vadim sharifijanov said:
^ yeah the night life might be more book burnings than museum galas but when you own the plantation why would you move to somewhere where you don't?

for ex, i bet mike comrie ends up back in edmonton if he's not already back there.
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I guess but, she could always visit...... I still have never heard of her... What is she the Paris Hilton of St. Louis or something? lol.
 
When Pronger was traded to Edmonton he immediately signed a long term extension right? I guess he figured his family would be happy there, but it didn't work out.

I can understand why Edmonton fans would be bitter, but you have to do what's right for your family. If his wife didn't live with him, that's rough on him, her and their kids. Moving to Anaheim allowed them all to be together. I assume she moved there with him?
 
Sutter pours bourbon said:
Oilers fans? Panther? Anybody? Pronger at least never came out and bashed the city.
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Pronger didn't rip the city but he and his media buddy Andy Strickland from St. Louis came up with a complete lie that made Edmontonians and the fanbase look like barbarians. Strickland wrote an article after the trade saying Oiler fans got hold of the furniture the Prongers had rented and burned his son's crib. Pronger went on Jim Rome's radio show and repeated it. The furniture store eventually had to come out and say that was all bull****. No apology or retraction from Pronger or Strickland though.

Great player but he was a real dick after being treated like royalty here for 11 months.

Dave Sparky Allison said:
When Pronger was traded to Edmonton he immediately signed a long term extension right? I guess he figured his family would be happy there, but it didn't work out.

I can understand why Edmonton fans would be bitter, but you have to do what's right for your family. If his wife didn't live with him, that's rough on him, her and their kids. Moving to Anaheim allowed them all to be together. I assume she moved there with him?
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As part of the trade Pronger signed a 5-year, $31.25M contract with the Oilers, which some said was a gamble by the team because he wouldn't be the same player in the 'new NHL' with the tighter rules, heh.

The majority of the anger was due to how Pronger handled the entire situation. There were numerous rumours floating around and most of them shifted the blame towards the city. This had nothing to do with Edmonton doing the Prongers wrong, so it hurt and pissed off a lot of people to be dragged through the mud while Pronger kept quiet about why he wanted out.
 
At the end of the day, the Oilers messed up by trading him

They should've played hardball and told Pronger it's Edmonton or retirement
 
Neutrinos said:
At the end of the day, the Oilers messed up by trading him

They should've played hardball and told Pronger it's Edmonton or retirement
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@Neutrinos : Thus, Edmonton would never have had to miss the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs ever since their epic 2006 playoff run with Pronger only for them to lose to Carolina who had Doug Weight, Mark Recchi and Glen Wesley as the team's sole veterans leftovers from the 1990s.

If that had happened, maybe Edmonton would've never had to evacuate Rexall Arena and also miss the Stanley Cup playoffs 10+ seasons in a row, and maybe the likes of Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Sam Gagner, Ryan Nugent Hopkins and Nail Yakupov plus Devan Dubnyk all would've had better guidance in the first place.
 
Neutrinos said:
You know what's a great way to attract free agents?

Having elite level talent like Pronger already on the roster
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Having a dissatisfied star player like that on your roster is not a good recipe for success at all.
 
Cooperalls said:
Yeah, you're right. It clearly went REALLY well for the Oilers. :sarcasm:
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Chris Pronger was a great player but the 2005–06 Edmonton Oilers as a team weren't a great team. If they were they would at least have beaten the Hurricanes in the finals. They finished 8th in the West and 14th in the league that year and were pretty average. Let's say slightly above average. Slightly. They had some nice pieces, but it was a Cinderella run. It happens. It happened to the 91 North Stars, the 94 Canucks & the 04 Flames too. None of those team became regular contenders after the fact. Pronger would definitely had made the Oilers a better team in the longer run if he had stayed, probably even as a dissatisfied player who mailed it in, but you don't build a continuous contender around the glorious scoring prowess of Fernando Pisani.

And yeah, hockey players are people too. They're not Batman. That means they can be affected by off ice stuff and feel dissatisfied and mail it in or play selfish. There's quite a bunch of examples. Jeff Carter in Ohio, for instance. If Pronger felt Oilers management helped to damage or destroy his marriage, hypothetically, you really think he would have given his all for that management group?
 
Neutrinos said:
At the end of the day, the Oilers messed up by trading him

They should've played hardball and told Pronger it's Edmonton or retirement
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Easier said than done. The players hold all or most of the cards in these situations. I don't love hearing a player wants to be traded, but it happens. At least he played as hard as he could all year even in a not so ideal personal situation. He didn't sulk and let it affect his play.

Besides, Pronger wasn't even really the bad guy here, his wife was. He had no problem with playing in Edmonton, but if your family isn't happy, you have to do something.

I don't like this "he should have just sucked it up" kind of attitude some people have. Just because he makes a lot of money doesn't mean he isn't human. No matter what your profession is your family comes first. It's too bad more people don't understand that.
 
the edler said:
Chris Pronger was a great player but the 2005–06 Edmonton Oilers as a team weren't a great team. If they were they would at least have beaten the Hurricanes in the finals. They finished 8th in the West and 14th in the league that year and were pretty average. Let's say slightly above average. Slightly. They had some nice pieces, but it was a Cinderella run. It happens. It happened to the 91 North Stars, the 94 Canucks & the 04 Flames too. None of those team became regular contenders after the fact. Pronger would definitely had made the Oilers a better team in the longer run if he had stayed, probably even as a dissatisfied player who mailed it in, but you don't build a continuous contender around the glorious scoring prowess of Fernando Pisani.
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Did you forget their #1 goaltender being injured in Game 1 of the SCF and missing the rest of the series? Markkanen did an admirable job but the injury to Roloson ended up spotting the Hurricanes a 2-0 series lead. Conklin and Jason Smith gave away the first game in the final minute and Game 2 was Markkanen's first action in 98 days.

The 2006 Oilers absolutely were a great team, they just had horrendous goaltending until Roloson settled in. Fewest shots against per game while getting a combined .881 sv% from Ty Conklin, Jussi Markkanen, and Mike Morrison for the majority of the season. They still only finished eight points behind the Flames for first in the Northwest. With average NHL goaltending the Oilers run away with the division and finish top 3 in the West.
 
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I am not married, but I'm sure a good percentage of the people posting here are. For Pronger in Edmonton doesn't the expression "happy wife, happy life" have some merit? I mean for most of us if your spouse was unhappy with your present living situation and you had the means of changing that situation wouldn't that be more important to you than what others (Oiler fans) think? For him he was probably better off demanding a trade than getting divorced right?

Pronger probably had a no trade clause of some kind where he held some power in choosing his trade destination, but wouldn't it be ironic if he were traded somewhere somewhat similar to Edmonton in social class/ status like Ottawa, Columbus or Minnesota?
 
Getting into soap opera territory here, but if I were a betting man I'd lay odds that Chris signed the deal with Edmonton without Lauren's consent. It's a newlywed type of mistake but understandable that she might dig her heels in and insist on a move. I don't know what else could land him in the dog house like that, unless there's truth to the weather girl story.

Pretty bad though if Lauren initially supported the move to Edmonton and then changed her mind. Maybe we can get them on Jerry Springer or something.
 
Voight said:
Most of those guys were drafted by EDM and thus had to play there. Especially McDavid, who is bound to them as a RFA until hes 26. They have to overpay free agents to come there, look at Sekera and even Lucic.
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4 of the 6 weren’t drafted by Edmonton…that isn’t “most”
 
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