Setting the Standard: Chris Pronger on Leveling Up in Hockey and Life

When you think of Chris Pronger, certain memories probably spring to mind. Maybe you remember him as a big defenseman, unafraid to get physical (and, on a handful of occasions, earn a suspension). Perhaps you remember him being drafted second overall in the 1993 NHL draft, winning the Hart Trophy as league MVP or hoisting the Stanley Cup. If you're focused on his post-playing career, you might recall his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Those are all undeniable parts of Pronger's story. But in his new book Earned, a different side of the NHL legend is on display: one that didn't have it all put together and struggled with the burden of expectation (and a big-money contract).

Take, for example, the being booed by his own fans in Hartford and then St. Louis. While that might seem like an ordinary part of the game to veteran sports fans, Pronger felt a bit different when he was on the receiving end.

"[You] feel like your world is crumbling around you and you’re getting booed on home ice," the Ontario native told Newsweek. "And it wasn’t like once or twice, it was virtually like all year long in Hartford, my first year, my second year, and then my first here in St. Louis, which was probably the worst of all of it. You know, Hartford was a smattering of boos and St. Louis, it was pretty much the whole building coming down on top of me. You know the weight of expectations, the pressure."

‘Iron Mike’ Changes Everything

But Pronger's struggles in St. Louis proved to be the catalyst for a major change. One day, Blues head coach Mike Keenan called his struggling defenseman up to the front of the team plane. While the bench boss nicknamed "Iron Mike" wasn't exactly known for being warm and fuzzy, he gave Pronger a piece of paper. It had the contact information for a sports psychologist.

"There was a lot of tough love early on, no question about that, but I think with good intention and trying to break me back, break me down and build me back up," Pronger said of his time working with Keenan. "As I started to figure things out, you know, my world is coming around me. I’m just getting deluged with all sorts of negativity.

"That chance encounter, that one moment where I think he saw how far down the how far down the barrel I was and the deep despair and hole I was in, I think it was that moment where I think he might have felt bad. … I brought it on myself, but he started it to a certain extent and then and then you know handed me that piece of paper with a number and said, ‘Hey you need to talk to this guy.'"

And while you might think a big, physical defenseman with a big-time contract might have had second thoughts about seeing a psychologist, Pronger wasn't in a position to hesitate.

"I was so far down in the hole that I was willing to try anything at that point. My world was crumbling around me, and it had already crumbled. I was trying to pick remnants off me at that point. I don’t know if there was further down. I was at the bottom of the barrel. It was not, nothing good was gonna come."

That psychologist challenged Pronger to name what standards he lived by, and the defenseman couldn't name any. That realization-and the effort to define the non-negotiables-proved to be a turning point.

"Ultimately I walk in that office and not really knowing what to expect and from that comes everything and basically the whole story behind this book," Pronger said.

Highs and Lows

But even after setting standards for himself, Pronger's life and career weren't completely smooth sailing. His on-ice performance did improve-he earned both the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman and the Hart Trophy as league MVP-but that didn't stop the Blues from trading him to Edmonton.

That trade also set a stage for a personal misstep, as Pronger and his wife agreed that they'd go north for a year and then reassess. The defenseman, however, agreed to a five-year deal while drinking. He handled that according to his standards-he took ownership and told his agent to get him out of Edmonton after a year-but still played through an awkward season in Alberta.

Pronger was then traded to Anaheim, where he made it to the top of the metaphorical mountain. After more than 900 games, he finally became a Stanley Cup champion in June 2007.

What was that experience like?

"911 games, including playoffs," Pronger said. "And my 13th year in the league, I had finally gotten to a final 12 years in and the year we lost in Game 7 in Edmonton. And you never know when you’re gonna get back. It took 12 years to get to a Final. I was fortunate enough to get back in my 13th year and ultimately get across the finish line with Anaheim and win one. And it’s just a sigh of relief euphoric moment, you know, the highs and lows of your career kind of come flashing down on you and it’s just pure joy and excitement, just to get that sensation of accomplishing something with a group of people that have that single-minded belief that you can accomplish this goal and we’re all in this together."

"And it was a great group to do it with. We were a super tight team that just loved to compete, loved to play at a high level. And we certainly knew what we were put together to do. We had that belief and that mindset that this group could do it, and then you have to go out and execute on that. We faced some adversity midway through the season that kind of got us back on track and got us really focused. I think most teams need to go through some type of adversity throughout the year to really kind of get a sense of how you’re gonna react in those moments and how you are gonna manage and handle those situations when they arise, because they do during the playoffs. It’s two months of a lot of blood, sweat and tears and a lot things happening, injuries, momentum shifts and things like that. So you have to really have your head on straight, and you have a group of individuals that understand that there’s gonna be ebbs and flows."

Sharing the Standards

Pronger last took the NHL ice during the 2011-12 season following an eye injury and a concussion. So why put pen to paper and write a book more than a decade later?

"I’d kick the tires on doing a book for probably the last 10, 12 years, kind of start, stop, start, stop," he explained. "And maybe the framework of the book wasn’t what I wanted or thought it should be. Ultimately as I began building up my speaking platform and doing some more keynote talks and things of that nature and really had messaging I started to look at it as there’s an opportunity for people to learn from my life experiences, from what I’ve gone through, the ups and downs and all the rest of it. And so as I started to kind of build out the framework and kind of really look back and dig deep into the different, the varying experiences that I’ve had and life lessons that I thought there was something there that I thought people could really get a lot out of and I could have an impact in helping them become difference makers and leveling up and becoming better leaders in their own right."

There is plenty of hockey present in Earned but, as the author said, lessons about standards, accountability and leveling up are at the heart of the book. And that's exactly how Pronger planned it.

"Yeah, I didn’t want it to just be [a pure sports book]," he said. "I think if people want that, they can Google it or use AI to create their own narrative. I think for me, it was more having people read something and get some value out of it and be able to utilize what they read and input some of that into how they live their lives and be able take action and start to level up in their own lives.

"Yes, they want to kind of hear some inside scoops on kind of what went on and what I was thinking in different situations that may have some notoriety to them, but a lot of what I am presenting here to people is more, let’s call it life lessons or a playbook of sorts to level up, to maybe make those necessary changes in your life, and this is the kickstart to that, or it can be something as simple as just wanting a little bit more for your life. Sometimes you need the motivation or the ability to understand and take ownership, take action in whatever it is you’re trying to do."

No Do-Overs

For Pronger, his talk of standards aren't just words. Take, for example, his conviction that things happened for a reason.

While there are plenty of moments that could be considered missteps (or, if nothing else generally less than ideal)-being booed, being traded, having his heart stop on the ice, suffering the injury that ultimately ended his career, among others-he wouldn't go back and change a single one of them.

Why? That's not the way Chris Pronger looks at life, and he's not going to waver on that.

"Moments happen to help shape us. I tell my kids we don’t play the what if game. There’s no rear-view mirrors here. We don’t look backward. We look forward. We can learn from our mistakes and from the positive moments that happen and transpire around us, but we’re going in this direction. And we’re focused on what we’re doing and what we are about to do, not what we did." he said.

"You know, I think that’s the exciting thing. And that’s what I kind of portray in the book: you need to be focused on what you’re doing and where your feet are now, and accept [that] you’re gonna bet on yourself. You’re gonna make bold decisions and some are gonna be wrong and some are gonna be right. And learning from what went into the wrong moves and the mistakes that were made certainly matter just as much as what went in to the right decisions."

Newsweek's reporters and editors used Martyn, our Al assistant, to help produce this story. Learn more about Martyn.

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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 2:00 AM.