Chris Pronger leaves hockey behind to pursue a different business opportunity

Former Norris Trophy, Hart Trophy and Stanley Cup Winner Chris Pronger may be one of the most recognizable figures in hockey, but the 46-year-old has reportedly left hockey behind in pursuit of a different dream - running a travel business with his wife and spending time with his kids.

Pronger, one of the nastiest defensemen in NHL history, spent 18 seasons making life hell for the opposition and piling up wins along the way, spent time with Hartford, St. Louis, Edmonton, Anaheim and Philadelphia - and working in an off-ice capacity with the NHL's Department of Player Safety in 2014 (then named the Player Safety Division) and then with Florida Panthers, as a senior advisor of hockey operations since 2017. Now with hockey behind him, Pronger is looking forward to leading a more casual life.

«I'm out of the hockey game and just a fan and kind of watching when I can. Our business takes up the bulk of my time — and our kids," said Pronger during an interview with The Associated Press.

A big part of the reason for the change in direction for Pronger is, according to him, that he had never found as much joy in the off-ice aspects of the game as he had found on the ice. Pronger had described his job with the Department of Player Safety as «not quite as thankless as a referee's job", but added that it isn't that far off, with the pressure to always get it right being so similar.

In terms of his role in Florida as an off-ice executive, Pronger didn't really take to the constant demand without any clear direction as to where the team was going.

«It's not 'What have you done for me lately?' It's 'What can you do for me today?'» Pronger said. «It's a lot of work, whether you're scouting or doing contracts or things of that nature. It's a 24/7 job, 365. It's not that I was against the work, but there needs to be an endgame and I just didn't see one.»

The travel business can be a lucrative one - and Pronger and his family are no strangers to travel, given the nature of Pronger's work, so they just really felt like they had a lot of valuable information to offer travellers.

«[We] really kind of help (people) through a lot of what we learned on the fly and what we did in our own lives,» he said. «We've obviously been through a lot, both professionally and personally, and have a lot to offer and help guide and steer people.»

All the best to the Hall-of-Famer and his family in this next chapter of their lives.

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