{"id":549064,"date":"2026-04-09T23:03:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T23:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/549064\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T23:03:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T23:03:24","slug":"former-oilers-defenceman-chris-pronger-says-new-book-will-discuss-what-went-wrong-in-edmonton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/549064\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Oilers defenceman Chris Pronger says new book will discuss what went wrong in Edmonton"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Oilers defenceman Chris Pronger says new book will discuss what went wrong in Edmonton<\/p>\n

One of the most beloved, then hated, Edmonton Oilers<\/a>\u00a0will talk about what went wrong during his brief, but busy, tenure with the team twenty years ago.\u00a0Chris Pronger\u2019s new book, <\/a>Earned: The True Cost of Greatness from One of Hockey\u2019s Fiercest Competitors, becomes available for readers next week. The two-time Olympic gold medallist says the book is part memoir and part lessons learned through his hockey career.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI walk people through how to level up, how to create standards, how to be difference makers in their life, and then to go take action and execute,\u201d said Pronger, who\u2019s been making the media rounds in promoting the book.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSet the bar high, challenge yourself, trust the process, but also make sure that you own every decision. And throughout the course of the book, I own every good decision and every bad decision. There\u2019s plenty of those in there. Yes, even Edmonton. It\u2019s in the book.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the years since the trade request, Pronger has spoken little about what really happened in Edmonton.<\/p>\n

NHL legend Chris Pronger joins Devan Dubnyk on this week’s edition of Ask Dubey!<\/p>\n

If you want a shot at having your question answered by Chris Pronger, drop it in the comments below to be featured on the on this week’s episode!<\/p>\n

\u2018I knew I\u2019d be Public Enemy No. 1\u2026\u201dIn August 2005, the St. Louis Blues traded their captain<\/a> to Edmonton for Eric Brewer, Jeff Woywitka, and Doug Lynch, as they looked to cut costs. Pronger minted the move by agreeing to a new five-year, $31.25 million contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the cornerstone piece of the Oilers\u2019 blueline, Pronger produced 56 points in his lone season and helped the team squeak into the playoffs as the eight-seed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What happened next was an unlikely run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final with Pronger playing at an elite level, worthy of Conn Smythe Trophy consideration. The run ended in heartbreak against the Carolina Hurricanes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then, the former Hart Trophy winner requested a trade from the Oilers for \u201cpersonal reasons\u201d with rumours of his wife, Lauren, being unhappy in the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Former Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe said Pronger initially requested a trade earlier in the season, but stuck it out for the season. Within moments of Game 7 finishing, Lowe says<\/a> Pronger\u2019s agent repeated the request.\u00a0Just two weeks after Game 7 finished, Pronger was traded<\/a> to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid, and their 2007 first-round pick.\u00a0\u201cI knew I\u2019d be Public Enemy No. 1\u2026but I\u2019m pissed off by all the rumors and innuendo surrounding my leaving,\u201d Pronger told The Edmonton Journal<\/a> in 2006. \u201cI\u2019ve heard all the nasty stuff, about all my girlfriends\u2026that I\u2019ve got more kids than I started with. I must have six kids out there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started off with I slept with so-and-so, and I\u2019m having kids, then it moved to my wife sleeping with some of my teammates. I was supposed to be having a kid with a reporter, then she said, \u2018I don\u2019t know what they\u2019re talking about.\u2019 Then it went from story to story. Some people even took my rental furniture from my house and burned it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\u2018I liked it there\u2019<\/p>\n

After being eliminated by the Oilers in the Western Conference Final the previous year, Pronger helped lead the Ducks to the Stanley Cup that season.\u00a0He said at the time that he enjoyed Edmonton, but needed to do what was right for his family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He expected the wrath of Oilers fans, who felt betrayed after the ecstasy of the Cup run. Pronger received the wrath in spades, as a chorus of boos rained down from the Rexall Place faithful every time he touched the puck.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have nothing bad to say against the city of Edmonton. I liked it there. I had a fun year playing. It\u2019s something I\u2019ll remember for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earned will hit book shelves on Tuesday, April 14.<\/p>\n

Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of PreGaming and Oilersnation After Dark. He\u2019s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4.<\/p>\n

The Nation Playoff Draft Party \u2014 Team Sign-Up Now Open\"\"<\/a>Edmonton hockey fans \u2014 think you and your crew know playoff hockey? Prove it at the\u00a0Nation Playoff Draft Party\u00a0on\u00a0Friday, April 17th at the River Cree Resort & Casino.\u00a0Build your playoff roster, compete against other teams throughout the postseason, and battle for\u00a0$2,500 cash and Nation bragging rights.\u00a0Team entry is\u00a0$1,000 for groups of 8, which includes dinner and your first bevy. The night will be hosted by\u00a0Ryder & Lisa from The Sauce\u00a0and\u00a0Tyler & Liam from ON Everyday, so expect plenty of energy, competition, and chirps.\u00a0Spots are limited \u2014 sign your team up now at\u00a0nationgear.ca<\/a>.\u00a0All proceeds from the event support\u00a0KidSport Edmonton, helping ensure local kids can stay in the game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Oilers defenceman Chris Pronger says new book will discuss what went wrong in Edmonton One of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549065,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5125],"tags":[198,146,5300,5,4,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-549064","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edmonton-oilers","8":"tag-edmonton","9":"tag-edmonton-oilers","10":"tag-edmontonoilers","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-oilers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116377250800798162","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}