Rumour:
I just spoke to a person who's very well-integrated in the city's upper circles, and heard something quite intriguing from her...
(and most of you know my post history and rapport to be quite reputable. IE, I don't post bull.)
Pronger was having some marital problems before he and Lauren even moved to Edmonton. They thought that the move would help to give them a fresh start and a happy beginning. Anyway, after a few months here, their marriage was not getting better, but rather, getting worse. They were constantly fighting and Pronger started spending less and less time at home, preferring instead to go out with teammates and new found friends in the city. So, he was at a high profile function in which he was introduced to two very interesting women: an anonymous CityTV employee, and the salon owner/head stylist which does the hair and make-up for CityTV. Two things transpired... Pronger proceeded to have an affair with this CityTV personality, and started getting his hair cut at the aforementioned salon. The CityTV personality and him had a falling out after a little bit, and this salon owner and the CityTV personality had somewhat of an argument over Pronger's integrity...Apparently, the result of this was the CityTV employee proceeding to speak openly (and proudly) about her affair with Chris and launching a smear campaign against he and the salon owner saying that they were having an affair (my informant made it sound like she didn't think that the salon owner and Pronger did have an affair, but I'm not sure about the details surrounding that.), and eventually it got around and made its way to some business owners and friends of the Oilers who inquired about it, etc. etc. (everybody here knows how rumours get transmitted) and it made its way somehow to Pronger's wife, Lauren.
Apparently she gave him an ultimatum to either end whatever he was doing with this/these woman/women and leave Edmonton with their family to somewhere she wanted to live or else she would take their children and leave him altogether. So Pronger decided to try to reconcile with her but she was very stubborn and adament about moving somewhere else where she wanted to go, and so after the season, sensing he'd done everything he could, he requested a trade in no uncertain terms to either California (LA, Anaheim, San Jose), Phoenix, somewhere in the midwest (Minnesota, Columbus, Chicago, St. Louis) or the Eastern seaboard (Boston, New Jersey, Either New York team, Philadelphia, or Toronto), with her major preference being in one of LA, St. Louis, Columbus, Boston, Philadelphia, or Toronto.
Take it for what it's worth. Interesting story if nothing else, but the person who told me is also a fairly trustworthy gal who was pretty set on this being the actual truth.