Pronger still hopes to return
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Pronger still hopes to return
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren strongly refuted a Facebook rumor that defenseman Chris Pronger was retiring and moving to St. Louis with his family.
Holmgren said on Thursday night that Pronger, who missed most of the season with post-concussion syndrome, is hoping to get better and return to action next season. He is still experiencing headaches, the GM said.
“There’s no truth to him retiring,” Holmgren said.
Because of an illness in his wife’s family, the Prongers are apparently going to spend some time in St. Louis, Holmgren said.
Fans on Twitter and Facebook reported seeing a huge moving van in front of Pronger's Haddonfield house on Wednesday.
If Pronger retired, the Flyers would not get any relief from his $4.9 million cap hit.
Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.
Comments (66)
... and how many more years is he on the books? I guess he'll just be injured for the remainder of the contract to not impact the cap as much?— Dish- They have a legit shot to get out from underneath that awful contract he signed and they pass. No wonder it's been 40 effin years since they last won the Cup.— Jerome99RIP
- Jerome, what are you talking about? If he officially retires, the Flyers are on the hook for the remaining years on his contract due to his age when it went into effect. They will do what they did with Hatcher, Rathje, Lappy, etc. They won't play again and will just go on long term IR so we get the cap relief. — max-power
- You're right, man. Even aside from the concussion, with all the other injuries and operations, I don't see how Pronger could make it through another season at his age.
- One drawback for Prongs....delays Hall of Fame nomination since he technically is active on long-term IR. — Romus
- I got the first vote down on the poll connected with this story. Would there be a better comeback story ever if Pronger were able to make it back this coming season or the next one? Everbydo writes him off and thinks about his cap hit. The best antidote to the Devils forecheck is Pronger standing up forwards at the blueline or making the sharp outlet pass that gives the Flyers the odd man rush coming out of their zone. It's a longshot I realize but one that I hope for.— Claudio Vernight
- I can't imagine there is any way he plays again. Any doctor that allows someone with Pronger's concussion history to play again would be begging for a malpractice suit. I suspect Pronger is holding off on an official retirement announcement only to help the team spare the cap hit.— jjs0101
- Please try to imagine sticking Pronger out on the Kings or Devils Saturday night. Who would you pull out? I picture forwards blowing by him like 18 wheelers. Love Pronger, but he was shakey before going down. Stanley Cup against Chicago was the last chance for Flyers to win with Pronger. Work with our prospects, help coach, great guy, hope he proves me wrong.— NYPHILLYPHAN
- 6 months and still headaches? Come back? Why? Gonna pull an Utley and start the season on the DL still feeling pain with no timetable for playing a single game?— GreenWing
- All Pronger needs to do is ask Keith Primeau about the prospects of coming back and what the next hit could mean. For the sake of his health and for the sake of family, call it a career. If you want to stay in the game, I'm sure the Flyers will help as they take care of their own.
Has there ever been a sports town more snakebit with long term injuries like Philadelphia? Lindros, Pronger, Primeau, Utley, Howard, Peters........— DelawareRiverRat - He needs to think about quality of life at this point. The whole reason you put yourself through the NHL meat grinder is to make a nice life for your family.— hillbillybirdsfan
- Hard to imagine coming back next season if he STILL has headaches.
This is still hard to believe when you look at the one or two hits that apparently caused this. Must have been that puck to the head.— VicM - Pronger was a great one and will disappear into the night— shawnmac
- He could easily come back and play. I mean, Marc Savard came back after his concussion........well, technically, he did come back.
Pronger has been slow for years. He doesn't have the rich history of concussions that some others have had, but at his age, why would he bother? He is not able to exercise due to this brain trauma. Therefore the likelihood of him returning to a physical condition that allows him to be an NHL player, is low.
Past three seasons for Chris Pronger- 92pts, +30
Past three seasons for Matt Carle -113pts, +53
Yet Pronger is revered, while Carle is reviled.
Must be the goalies fault, huh.— Hexy4GM - Chris Pronger carried the Flyers in the 2010 playoffs, following a great regular season. He was the likely Conn Smythe winner had the Flyers been able to defeat Chicago. (Argued widely; in factual detail here: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/The-Conn-Smythe-case-for-Chris-Pronger-win-or-l?urn=nhl,246514)
Yes, he struggled with injuries the following two seasons. But the Flyers were SO much better in every aspect of the game with Pronger in the lineup. From the start of the 2010-11 season until February 16, 2012 -- when the Flyers acquired Grossmann (and then Kubina) to shore up their defense -- the Flyers were 41-18-7 with Pronger (a .621 winning percentage) and were 41-30-12 without him (a .494 winning percentage).
Further, in the first 116 of those 149 games (sorry, that's all I had the stats for, but the trend is clear), the Flyers scored 3.29 goals per game with Pronger, 3.02 without; they allowed 2.64 goals per game with Pronger, 3.06 without; their power play was 19.9% effective with Pronger, 12.3% without; and the Flyers killed 84.1% of penalties with Pronger, 80.4% without... Unfortunately, these were over several absences, so they don't reflect just one or two trends for the entire team. Pronger was, even in decline, the biggest factor in the Flyers' performance level over the last two seasons. Sadly, his career is almost certainly over.— PhilaLogic
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Broad Street Bull is the Inquirer's blog covering the Philadelphia Flyers and the National Hockey League.
Reach Sam at scarchidi@phillynews.com.
Sam Carchidi
Inquirer Staff Writer
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