Pronger calling out Giroux is 'great' for Flyers
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Pronger calling out Giroux is 'great' for Flyers
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren acknowledged Friday that defenseman Chris Pronger was chewing out Claude Giroux after the team’s inartistic 4-1 win over Edmonton Tuesday.
Asked what he thought of the situation, Holmgren was blunt.
“I think it’s great,” he told reporters at the Flyers' practice facility in Voorhees.
As reporters entered the locker room after Tuesday’s game, Pronger could be heard shouting, “Some people just don’t learn.”
The Flyers dominated the first period in that win over Edmonton _ ending a four-game losing streak _ but were soundly outplayed in the final 40 minutes.
“Nobody likes the way we’ve been playing, and it just came to a head in that particular instance, I’m sure,” said Holmgren, whose team hosts Atlanta on Saturday night, a game in which Pronger is questionable because of a sore right hand. “Just got to get on the same page. I’m assuming you’re talking about Chris and Claude, right? Claude Giroux wants to win, but sometimes he needs to hear from the older guys on the team that this is how it’s done.”
Added Holmgren: “I don’t think it’s bad. Claude, maybe he didn’t like being spoken to like that, but I think he understands what’s being said to him, and he’ll benefit from that.”
Ironically, Giroux, an all-star who leads the team in points (63) and assists (41), has been one of the Flyers’ most consistent players this season. He had three turnovers in the win over Edmonton, and Pronger criticized the Flyers for their sloppy play after that game
Giroux, who could not be reached for comment, scored the game-winner in Thursday’s 3-2 victory in Toronto.
As for Pronger’s status for Saturday night’s home game, the Flyers might err on the side of caution and give the 36-year-old defenseman more time to rest his sore right hand.
Pronger missed Thursday’s win in Toronto with the hand injury, which he apparently re-aggravated in a recent game or practice. He injured the hand blocking a shot against the Islanders on Feb. 26, missed a game and then returned to the lineup and played in four straight contests before sitting out against the Maple Leafs.
“We’ll see how he is (Saturday),” Holmgren said. “He’s day-to-day with that and how he feels. Obviously he wants to play. And if he didn’t feel like he’s ready to play yet, then we’ll ride it out. It’s nothing to be concerned with long term. It’s just kind of a nagging, day-to-day thing right now.”
On Friday, Pronger skated on one side of the Voorhees practice rink with assistant coach Kevin McCarthy. Earlier in the week, Pronger had an ice pack on his hand following the win over Edmonton.
Pronger would not comment on his injury. If he cannot play against Atlanta, Nick Boynton will again be in the lineup. Boynton, in his Flyers debut, was paired with Matt Carle and played well in Thursday’s physical game in Toronto.
“It’s been a while since I had some body contact, but it felt pretty good, all in all,” said Boynton, an 11-year veteran who hadn’t played since Feb. 7, when he was with Chicago.
The Flyers will be facing an Atlanta team that is struggling to keep its Eastern Conference playoff hopes alive. The Thrashers, despite collecting five points over their last three games, are six points out of the final playoff spot.
* * *
BREAKAWAYS. The Flyers' lead over second-pace Washington is two points, but the Caps have played two more games...If the playoffs started after Friday's games, the Flyers would face the Rangers in the first round.....Defenseman Matt Carle has 30 assists _ one shy of equaling his career best. Carle leads the Flyers with a plus-22 rating….Thrashers captain Andrew Ladd has eight goals in his last 11 games.....The Flyers and Thrashers will meet three times in a 20-day span. The Flyers defeated Atlanta, 5-2, on Jan. 14.
Contact staff writer Sam Carchidi at scarchidi@phillynews.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BroadStBull.
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Pronger out for a month 3rd or 4th place— lawrence2465
Pronger is on the ice with him, so if he says someone isn't working as hard as they could I'll defer to his judgement. But someone needs to pull O'Donnell's sweater. He looked like a mite when defending against Brown on Toronto's second goal. He turned the wrong way (to the outside) giving Brown the middle of the ice from where he made a nice pass for the score. Sean is getting up there in age. Maybe they need to rest him?- A thought on the losing streak: It started just after Nik Zherdev had a “heart-to-heart” talk with Coach Laviolette and GM Paul Holmgren after being waived for lax play and then being reinserted into the lineup. Zherdev had been a turnover machine this season and lax defensively. Was his reinsertion into the lineup a catalyst for other Flyers to become disgruntled by the move and then to let up in their play as well? Interesting that he went back to being a healthy scratch in the midst of the losing streak and, as soon as that happened, the team has had two wins in a row.
— FlockyHockey 
Comment removed.- It's good to have two captains- one on the ice and one off. Ball busting is exactly what this team needs right now and he shouldn't stop at G. Getting Pronger was one of the best moves Homer made.— Kanayd
- Northcountry - Good post.— CarpGuy
- Claude is a highly talented kid with lots of skill, desire, and guts.That doesn't mean he should get a pass when he repeatably does dumb things like trying to pass through 3 NHL players. He got away with stuff like that in juniors this is the NHL. Big Daddy Prongs is just doing his job and the kid should listen to the alpha male. The kid needs to learn there's such a thing as trying to do too much. Giroux may be the most exciting player on the team. That's not the same as being the best player on the team. If he wants to become that he should listen to guys like Pronger, Richards, and Timo. And yes I meant Richards. There's more than one way to lead and Richards is a leader even if he's soft spoken.— Paul1954
- Pronger simply needs to wait until his hand is completely healed. He comes back from injuries much too quickly. When he is once again healthy he will be the same monster on D he's always been.— WildwoodDays
- PhillyzkidSC - Sbisa spent 8 games with the Ducks last year, and he is playing well again for them this year in 53 games.— WildwoodDays
Pronger = a real leader who is willing to call out the best player when necessary.— wylies99- I am all for Pronger calling out a young player like Giroux. But to you morons who think he should call out Richards-get a clue. If Pronger has a problem with Richards then they should speak in private. Calling out a captain in front of the team does no good.— Han Solo
- Pronger probably told him to 'shoot', since he has a good shot, and stop trying to make the perfect pass.— Romus
- Giroux is the best player on the team and on the surface to single him out is ridiculous. He scraps for the puck in the corner, he kills penalties, and most of the time his passes are right on the money. If I was going to focus on guys who were killing them with turnovers lately it would be Briere, Leino and Versteeg. Maybe there's something else going on here in the locker room?— Jack Burden
- I know Pronger will show up for games in April, May, and June. He just is insuring that others on the team do so as well. He might not wear the "C", but he is the true captain— rmpchf
- Pronger was horrible on Sunday so would he be happy if someone flipped out on him? I also don't like how it appears that Holmgren told the media it was Giroux being yelled at because the media didn't report it that way, they just said Pronger was screaming.— MissMolly
- Or, perhaps its something we all needed to see, so no one can act like it didn't happen. Sometimes a little humiliation is needed...— MFPhils
- This is the type of thing that should have stayed in the locker room.— paulie
- This is gold. Giroux and some of the other players need a beatdown now and then. Hope he does it with Ville for his phobia to shoot the puck. War Prongs— n62
- No problem with Pronger calling out Giroux, but he has no beef if a younger player starts wondering out loud why Pronger hasn't been willing to fight through some of the injuries that have kept him out of the lineup lately.— drbob1
- Pronger needs to call out Richards. He has way more turnovers than Giroux.— booman55
- while pronger is freaking out on people, maybe he should blow the doors off richards and hartnell too. neither of them have been too impressive over the last month or so.— canflyerfan
- pronger is like a second head coach— Howie FelterSnatch
- Pronger is doing what he was brought here to do. Hopefully Richards also got the message, cause in a few more years it's Richards that's going to need to be able to call out his teammates. If you ask me, I think Giroux's success might be getting to his head. He's trying to be too cute. Pronger is trying to bring him down to Earth.— PatXMM
- Did Pronger inform Giroux about the Flyers new policy of skating the puck up to just before the red line, then blasting the puck into the corner and getting called for icing? Because I have really loved the Flyers defensemen recent implementation of that strategy. It works great.— AreaMan
- @ PhillyzkidSC, you need a sarcasm detector. they are very useful.— wjh150
- @ jking91... Lupul has been traded again after being injured all last year and Sbisa spent all of last year in the minors... Give me Pronger any day.— PhillyzkidSC
- Big mouth Pronger. We should still have Luca!!!! He's going to great in just 5 more years!!! I only watch Flyers games. People who watch other NHL games don't know as much about the NHL as me. Bring back Scottie Lups and Luca!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!— jking91
- I agree with mostly all of the posts. Pronger is a true leader, and I am sure he is very self critical if he doesn't play well. He is the true captain of this team, as the "real" captain would never do something like that. Mike Richards is a good player but he is not a leader he would rather fit in than lead. I am glad we have someone like Pronger on this team.— charliem
- Giroux will benefit if he listens to & understands Pronger's message. The truth is Giroux is a highly skilled player and if he remains healthy will be a major contributor for years to come. If on the other hand he follows the advice of some on the Flyer's broadcast team and tries to play a more physical style he will shorten his lifespan in this league. He has been compared to Forsberg and I can see some similarities. Forsberg was a finesse player who played the physical style and was chronically injured. Forsberg also has 35 pounds on Giroux. I would rather see Claude pattern his game after Joe Sakic and stay on the active roster.— Northcountry
- It's good that Pronger is around to do this kind of thing. Giroux is becoming a leader on this team and he needs to know that other players are going to look at him as such and follow his example. He's the perfect guy to call out for the recent poor play of the team and that's why Pronger did it. It's not his first rodeo rockinrob, the guy knows what he is doing. And if Pronger calls you out you are going to pay attention. As for Pronger's play, he may not be quick enough anymore to throw a lot of checks but he is still an all star caliber defenseman. If you are just looking for big hits and not noticing his shot blocking, his presence in front of the net and his breakout passing ability you aren't paying close enough attention.— sla6yer
- Pronger can say whatever he wants to that kid. And that kid better listen.— hititwheretheyaint
- I was at the game on Tuesday vs. Edmonton. I saw Pronger barking at Giroux big time as they were both going to the bench during a play stoppage. Giroux had his head down and did not look at Pronger nor appear to be saying anything back to him.— john dorian
- Pronger is the man— shawnmac
- I think its great, someone needs to say something and why not go after one of the All-Stars. Richards won't do it, so a real Captain needs to thank Fonzie the Flyers have one. They all have played miserably, but Prongs carries a big stick let him use it playoffs are right round the corner.— JohnnyN
- Giroux is a more confident player than he was in the past. At times, he seems to improvise when handling the puck, and his teammates do not know what he's doing. I suppose Pronger was upset because Giroux wasn't dumping the puck in and setting up a forecheck when his team had the lead. Giroux is tremendously skilled, but sometimes relying too much on one's skill leads to the lazy play.— tgray83
- Pronger has been a great player for a long time but as the saying goes "let he who is without sin cast the first stone". I have seen many games this season that Pronger has been beaten badly getting back and been out of position, as well as a multitude of other defensive miscues. Chris should look in the mirror and take stock of his own performance before he calls out arguably the best player on this team. And while he is at it maybe Chris could throw a hit once in a while because he is soft back there. What happened to big bad Leroy Brown back there making people pay. Maybe Richards should grow a pair and call Pronger out. I unlike Homey don't see this as a good thing when a star player is certainly notplaying like one calls out an Aall Star.— rockinrob
- Completely agree that Pronger hasn't played his best hockey, but he's proven in the past that his skill and leadership always elevate when his team needs him most. He's demonstrating his leadership and Giroux will someday be in a position to do the same....and come playoff time, I'm certain we'll be seeing Pronger's A-game. — dri_as_a_bone
- TONKA LIKE MAN MEAT
- Comment removed.
