Chris Pronger reveals he agreed to long-term contract with Oilers while drunk |
When Chris Pronger was traded to the Edmonton Oilers on Aug. 3, 2005 and signed a long-term contract hours later, he was drunk and didn’t consult with his wife, Lauren, before signing the deal.
The Athletic, in conjunction with Pronger, published a section of his upcoming book Earned: The True Cost of Greatness from One of Hockey’s Fiercest Competitors on Monday morning, ahead of its release on Tuesday.
He says that the night he was traded to Edmonton, he was at a friend’s house celebrating a birthday party and “consumed a plethora of alcoholic beverages” and had a “good buzz going” when he learned about the trade.
“My phone rang. It was my agent. I ducked into a quiet room, half-drunk, thinking I was headed to Los Angeles, Florida, maybe Boston. Those were the teams we had heard whispers about,” the book says.
“Edmonton,” he said.
Edmonton? Nobody mentioned f—ing Edmonton.
On our way home, Lauren and I stopped at a bookstore. She asked the clerk, “Do you have any books about Edmonton?”
The........