Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger says he is not retiring

Former Flyers captain and defenseman, Chris Pronger was in Voorhees, NJ on Thursday at the Flyers Skate Zone and addressed the media about his career-threatening concussion and eye injury.

Pronger was hit over the head by Mikhail Grabovski's stick in a game against the Maple Leafs on October 24, 2011. On November 19 of that year, Pronger complained that he was bothered by the lights and crowd noise in Winnipeg.

Pronger, who hasn't played in over a year and still suffers symptoms, said that he is not ready to retire and will "continue to work towards playing again."

All signs point to Pronger's career being over, and it is likely that his decision not to retire has more to do with the implications it would have on the Flyers' salary cap. If he does retire, the team will not get the same kind of cap relief they would if he was to remain on long-term injured reserve.

Here is some of what he said about his injury:

"I kind of went dark there for a while, but now I'm back."

"I need to continue to get healthy, to rehab, to go to my eye appointments, doctor appointments...once I continue to get healthy we'll see where we're at. It may or may not go away."

"If I've done a lot I'll wake up with a headache. I lose my train of thought and still have cognitive problems. I'll stop talking and people will ask "what's wrong with him?" but then I'll get back on to it."

"You get a little depressed, you can't work out, you try to work out but you get nauseous, you get a headache and you have to go lay down. The biggest thing is the depression, how dark you get, and how you go down."

On visors: "I would be for visors, but it's a slippery slope by allowing the league to mandate that. I don't think the players won't do it, but it's a slippery slope."

On making one of his sons wear a visor if he were drafted into the NHL: "If he's over eighteen, he can do what he wants. You can advise, but he's going to do what he wants."

"The eye is intertwined with the concussion to cause the dizziness and would give me headaches, you get disorientated."

"I don't think "full-time" wouldn't be the right word. I watch games and give them feedback and tell them what to work on. I help out."

"Everyone who plays a professional sport wants to go out on their own terms. Everyone wants a Stanley Cup. I don't think it's my time yet."

"I'm just trying to get healthy and live a normal live. I need to get better for my family."

"I never said my vision won't get better, I said my direct vision won't get better. There's glasses, contacts. I've never heard of anyone's eyes getting better with glasses. Direct vision is not as much of an issue as peripheral vision. It was good before, now I don't really have one. You know where everyone is on the ice so you don't get hit, so it's troublesome."

"The difference with my injury to guys like Primeau, Crosby, it was eye-related, not strictly head-related."

"You try to make positives out of a tough situation. If you get out of that [depression]... talks with my agent, Homer, that helped."

"I can see you [laughs at reporter]. I think I have pretty good sight."

"You get agitated quickly when the symptons add up, loud noises, kids running around in the house, you get pissed off because you have a headache and it gets worse and worse. Your kid comes over and you snap and you're not being the father you want to be. I have to catch myself and leave the room."

"I don't think I would have done anything different in that play, maybe I'd slash him over the head first [laughs]. Eventually you have to turn the page and try to get better. Hockey has been a part of my life for the past 19-20 years."

"I have glasses on and I can drive."

"I can't run, anything where I want to move my body fast. If my heart rate gets up too high, I get a headache. I've been on the ice with my kids, but I can't say I've been doing more than pushing pucks around. I've been on the ice and I've got headaches. I've tried to do things to help it, but it hasn't worked."

On if he works out: "I watch what I eat [laughs]. Did you know that 90 percent of your body is diet? I lift a little bit."

"It will be difficult, the good things in life are never easy, you have to set goals and push yourself to attain them."

"You miss the routine, that's the biggest thing that put me in the hole, you don't have a routine. I had a set schedule since I was 15, since I starting playing junior hockey, so it's difficult to not have one anymore. I have a little routine now. I go to therapy appointments, I try to work out and go to the carpool line to pick up my kids."

"You miss going to war every night, the blood, sweat and tears of playing a hockey game."

On the Flyers biggest issues: "Consistency. You look at our team, we're a young team, and when you're young you make mistakes. The biggest thing is it's not always the same guy making the mistakes, it's different guys. One guy might correct it, but then it's the next guy and the next guy. It's tough, you're trying to find your identity and who you are."

"You try to see where you are as the day goes by. When you have symptons, you have to back off. My eyes get more tired, I seem to fall asleep a lot earlier than I used to. I'm a little better, the lockout probably helped, not having it for that period, you're able to get better. You don't miss it as much when it's gone. Feeling like you should be there, and it gets tough at times."

"There was some pretty dark days, my doctor was worried, there were some pretty dark days."

On returning to the Flyers: "Not in the near future. I don't think we're there yet."

"I have no regrets, I played to the best of my ability, I played to win and was fortunate enough to win a Stanley Cup and played on a few good teams that got there. I don't have any regrets. I'm not going to look back and say 'Geez, I wish I did this and that.' I have nothing to prove."