Why did Chris Pronger leave Edmonton?

[markrander87]

I've heard rumuors that he knocked up a weathergirl and his wife made him leave the city?? Any truth to this or real facts on why he left.

Click to read more...

 

[Buck Aki Berg]

Pretty sure if the weathergirl story was true, she'd've done something far worse than make him move to a warm climate.

 

[Joey Moss]

That was the story, but I doubt it was true.

 

[popo]

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/story.html?id=92fab5f6-a0e8-43fe-bcb2-43fad1a44471

One recap from Edmonton Journal writers Staples and McKinnon.

 

[tarheelhockey]

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/story.html?id=92fab5f6-a0e8-43fe-bcb2-43fad1a44471

One recap from Edmonton Journal writers Staples and McKinnon.

Thanks for the link, that's easily the best-written and most informative article I've seen on this topic.

 

[Johnny Engine]

Basically, Pronger forgot to get his wife tickets for game 1 of the Stanley Cup final, so Oilers backup Ty Conklin, seeing how upset she was, offered to dress her in his goalie gear and uniform, so she could watch from the best seat in the house. Of course, neither of them counted on Roloson getting injured, and Pronger's wife having to play goal for the Oilers as a result. So this happened:
Lauren Pronger and Ty Conklin were both so embarrassed by that debacle they just had to skip town.

Sadly, that wasn't an original creation of mine, or for that matter, true.
Forget where I heard it.

 

[shazariahl]

Wow, that was a great article. I'd heard his wife wasn't happy and demanded the trade. I'd also heard all the sex scandal rumors, and I know a girl who works at a bar here in Edmonton who claims she had sex with Pronger. Who knows, maybe she did. But everything was just that - rumors. It's good to see someone with some insider information, even if we'll probably never know the truth about everything that happened.

 

[markrander87]

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/story.html?id=92fab5f6-a0e8-43fe-bcb2-43fad1a44471

One recap from Edmonton Journal writers Staples and McKinnon.

Awesome!! Thanks a lot man.

 

[mooseOAK*]

A friend of mine is a close relative of Randy Carlyle's and his information is the the story of Pronger's misbehaviour in Edmonton that brought on this trade is true.

 

[poise]

Great article, always hard to tell with all the rumors around, but the story the article presents seems the most likely.

 

[jcbio11]

I am thinking because Cali > Edmonton in every possible way.

 

[jkrx]

I am thinking because Cali > Edmonton in every possible way.

Not really... only good thing about cali is the weather.

 

[greatgazoo]

Pronger didn't want to throw his wife "under the bus" so to speak and that's why he's never come forth with why he left.

Why he still gets booed in Edmonton is beyond me.

 

[Tavaresmagicalplay*]

The story I've always believed is that his wife just didn't like edmonton. With the rumors that have been spread around about player in edmonton I wouldn't be surprised if the talk of an affair is comletely fabricated.

 

[dookers9]

Pronger didn't want to throw his wife "under the bus" so to speak and that's why he's never come forth with why he left.

Why he still gets booed in Edmonton is beyond me.

For real? Putting aside the common view that a contract should be played out, or that the Oilers' investment in Pronger meant that their direction was sidetracked due to the team having built around him, he wound up taunting and teasing the scenario and made it worse.

Assuming that the rumours of infidelity were NOT true, one can appreciate that he would have been offended by the barrage of accusations. But he knew that going on the Jim Rome Show and elsewhere to talk trash about the city and its responses to his departure would only serve as gasoline to the fire.

Pronger by nature, is outspoken. He says what's on his mind, he has difficulty holding his tongue. In many ways, it's great to be Roenick-esque. But his outspoken ways only contributed to the crisis.

Personally, I have no issues with Pronger having not shared his reasons for wanting out. Frankly, I don't share the perspective held by many that he somehow owed the city, the team, or the fans a rationale. But what he DID owe the above was to handle the episode with an iota of class. Fans were classless, but there wasn't the need for him to be.

Of note, hasn't it become commonplace for fans in all cities OTHER THAN the one Pronger's playing in, to boo him whenever he touches the puck? Fo sho, this is partly on account of his hard nosed game playing, also due to him being so great. Tall poppy syndrome. But Pronger's demonstrated himself to be an ass various times, in many different situations.

Therein the continued booing in Edmonton, and elsewhere.

 

[oiler-dude]

Pronger didn't want to throw his wife "under the bus" so to speak and that's why he's never come forth with why he left.

Why he still gets booed in Edmonton is beyond me.

It's because of how the whole situation was handled. Instead of just saying "my wife isn't happy here, and my family comes first" which would have made all of this so different, he just never came out and said why, which allowed rumours to spread, which fans heard, and it spiralled out of control from there.

Pronger once said on a radio interview that fans in Edmonton were "burning his childs' crib" and such, which has been proven to be false. That kind of stuff just added to it.

I think you could ask 95% of Oiler fans in this city, and they'd tell you they'd love to have Pronger back on the Oilers. I know I certainly would. Love the player, don't love the guy.

 

[The Big Unit]

For real? Putting aside the common view that a contract should be played out, or that the Oilers' investment in Pronger meant that their direction was sidetracked due to the team having built around him, he wound up taunting and teasing the scenario and made it worse.

Assuming that the rumours of infidelity were NOT true, one can appreciate that he would have been offended by the barrage of accusations. But he knew that going on the Jim Rome Show and elsewhere to talk trash about the city and its responses to his departure would only serve as gasoline to the fire.

Pronger by nature, is outspoken. He says what's on his mind, he has difficulty holding his tongue. In many ways, it's great to be Roenick-esque. But his outspoken ways only contributed to the crisis.

Personally, I have no issues with Pronger having not shared his reasons for wanting out. Frankly, I don't share the perspective held by many that he somehow owed the city, the team, or the fans a rationale. But what he DID owe the above was to handle the episode with an iota of class. Fans were classless, but there wasn't the need for him to be.

Of note, hasn't it become commonplace for fans in all cities OTHER THAN the one Pronger's playing in, to boo him whenever he touches the puck? Fo sho, this is partly on account of his hard nosed game playing, also due to him being so great. Tall poppy syndrome. But Pronger's demonstrated himself to be an ass various times, in many different situations.

Therein the continued booing in Edmonton, and elsewhere.

Good post but I have to disagree with your opinion that Pronger didn't owe the team an explanation. He most certainly did. They paid him really good money and basically told him that this would be his team to lead. When you put that much time, effort and hopes on a player and he leaves, he owes you an explanation. I'm not saying he had to tell us fans why, but it's not the end of the world to tell the GM who signed you to the contract, especially when your trade demand was made public 2 days after such a magical stanley cup run. It was unprofessional of him, it was classless and it happened in a way that showed he had absolutely no respect for the team, the Oilers ownership or the city that worshipped him. Very selfish person, although we respect his ability and what he's done for Canadian hockey, you can't respect him as a person.

 

[Lounge Act*]

It is seriously unfair how badly Edmonton is maligned to this day - all because of this.

 

[dookers9]

Good post but I have to disagree with your opinion that Pronger didn't owe the team an explanation. He most certainly did. They paid him really good money and basically told him that this would be his team to lead. When you put that much time, effort and hopes on a player and he leaves, he owes you an explanation. I'm not saying he had to tell us fans why, but it's not the end of the world to tell the GM who signed you to the contract, especially when your trade demand was made public 2 days after such a magical stanley cup run. It was unprofessional of him, it was classless and it happened in a way that showed he had absolutely no respect for the team, the Oilers ownership or the city that worshipped him. Very selfish person, although we respect his ability and what he's done for Canadian hockey, you can't respect him as a person.

I referred to the way that Pronger's sudden departure screwed the organization's future focus. And how he obviously failed to honour the contract he signed.

But while I suspect that much of Pronger's refusal to communicate had become about pride and stubbornness, I'm thinking that maybe initially he was trying to escape with the smallest disturbance possible.

Suppose he didn't like the river valley? Maybe he disliked the drive to the airport? Or, most disturbing to Edmonton's citizens, what if the reason was that his wife - and him, perhaps - simply hated the city? What value is there in announcing this? In what ways does it lead Oilers fans to feel "better" about the departure? Do Edmontonians simply say: great, thanks for the update, it's a shame, but now we can move on?

Point is, maybe Pronger didn't WANT for conflict, and sought to keep things under wraps. Then things got out of control, and Pronger was more than happy to be a dink.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/story.html?id=92fab5f6-a0e8-43fe-bcb2-43fad1a44471

One recap from Edmonton Journal writers Staples and McKinnon.

Pronger didn't want to throw his wife "under the bus" so to speak and that's why he's never come forth with why he left.

Why he still gets booed in Edmonton is beyond me.

in a way, he kind of did throw his wife under the bus. by not saying anything, he lets articles like the one linked above come out.

now, i have no idea what's true or false. maybe that article is totally correct, and what lowe and nichols say is accurate. or maybe there's more to the story, affairs with reporters or otherwise. what i do know is that lauren pronger ends up getting painted in edmonton and the rest of canada as a total word that starts with a b, and chris' silence helped make that happen.

i'm not saying that mrs. pronger doesn't deserved to be vilified. maybe she does and maybe she doesn't; i don't have the facts. but, like many others like it that i've read, that article really lets her have it-- in the nicest possible way there is to portray a woman as a spoiled rotten part of the female anatomy, mind you.

if he really didn't want to throw her under the bus, chris pronger mans up and takes one for the family, owns up to wanting to leave, says he isn't happy and apologizes, doesn't let the city and its legion of disappointed fans rightly or wrongly blame his wife.

 

[therealkoho]

It kinda like an urban legend thing about the weathergirl

Chris was overheard saying to a team-mate that "my girl doesn't like the weather",

but like most peeps on the intertainmentnet, they person heard(or read) what they wanted too or thought they saw and told someone else and voila........

why i even read once on the intertainmentnet that Mark Howe started out life as a forward and he converted to defence mid-way through his pro career or some such.........and some people who didn't know any better actually believed it, such is the power of myth

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Apologies for not closing this sooner - I've been away from my computer for a few days.

Closed. Please review the site rules regarding libel if you feel that you should.