While it is certainly great to have the NHL back on the ice, there is one special player that is missing: Chris Pronger.
Since October 2011, Pronger has been suffering from head and eye injuries and, as a result, has not been back on the ice.
While it is uncertain whether the future Hall of Famer will ever see NHL ice again, there is no doubt that Pronger has left his mark on the game. With that in mind, let’s now take a look at five memorable/funny moments from Pronger’s illustrious NHL career.
Pronger steals a puck in Chicago
It is obvious that when one team loses a game in the Stanley Cup final, the players on the losing team are frustrated and angry in having let a game slip away.
In the 2010 final between the Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks, Pronger vented his frustration in a very peculiar way after his team lost Game 2 by a score of 2-1 at the United Center.
Believe it or not, this was not the first time that Pronger did this. He actually did it after his team lost Game 1.
Pronger has fun with the media during 2010 final
It is often said that when it comes to the nicest and most open athletes, NHLers are some of the best.
This proved to be the case during the most important time of the NHL season in 2010, the Stanley Cup final. In a press conference on an off day after Game 1, Pronger had a lot of fun with the media and was relaxed, humorous and very conversational.
Pronger wins the cup with the Anaheim Ducks
After losing in the final in 2006 with the Edmonton Oilers in a heart-breaking seven-game series with the Carolina Hurricanes, Pronger was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in the off-season.
It is not often that a player gets to the final in back-to-back years but Pronger accomplished that feat. The only difference this time around was that he ended up on the winning end, capturing his only Stanley Cup title and giving the Ducks their first in franchise history.
Pronger wins the Hart and Norris Trophies in 2000
Besides winning the Cup in 2010, Pronger has had many other great moments in his career.
One of them came in 2000 when he was awarded the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenceman and also the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player. That season as the captain of the Blues, Pronger recorded a career high 62 points (14 goals and 48 assists) and was a plus-52.
Pronger scores buzzer-beater against the Blackhawks in 2010
It is always exciting when a player scores just as the buzzer is about to go off to win a hockey game.
Pronger accomplished that feat with the Philadelphia Flyers in what was a late regular season preview of the Cup final. Pronger ended up scoring a game-winning buzzer-beater to lift the Flyers over the Blackhawks 3-2.
Pronger’s goal was the Flyers’ second in a span of 2:04 for the Flyers.
