MONTREAL -- The Philadelphia Flyers made the biggest early splash at the NHL draft -- and they were nowhere near the podium.

The Flyers acquired towering defenceman Chris Pronger and prospect Ryan Dingle from the Anaheim Ducks for forward Joffrey Lupul, defenceman Luca Sbisa, first-round picks in 2009 and 2010 and a conditional third-round pick in 2010 or 2011.

Pronger, who had 11 goals and 37 assists in 82 games last season, is going into the final year of a deal that will pay him US$6.25 million next season.

Pronger, 34, was the second overall pick in the 1993 NHL draft and broke into the league that year with the Hartford Whalers. He was traded to St. Louis after the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season and spent nine years with the Blues.

"I am who I am," Pronger told Sportsnet’s Mike Brophy, sounding a little like Popeye. "I have no plans to change the way I play the game. I don’t care if the league is mad at me or the refs are mad at me, I’m going out and I’m going to play the way I have always played. I pass the puck, I play physical and I punish the guy in front of the net."

Pronger, it would seem, was made expendable when veteran defenceman Scott Niedermayer announced his intention to continue playing Friday afternoon. The Ducks seem bent on lowering their payroll and it has been rumoured Pronger would be dealt right back to last season’s trade deadline.

The 34-year-old defenceman is thrilled by the move and fully expects his new team to challenge for the Stanley Cup next season.

"Absolutely," Pronger said. "If we get the goaltending from (Ray) Emery that he gave Ottawa when we played them in the final, then I think we are sitting pretty.

"Some people might say the Flyers gave up a lot to get me because of the draft picks, but when you want to win (the Cup) you have to take chances. First round picks don’t always work out. Sometimes it’s better to go with the guy you know than the guy you think might be good. There are people who hate me and people who like me. It doesn’t matter to me. All I have to do is go out every night and play the best I can play."

The Dryden, Ont., native was dealt to Edmonton in 2005 and helped the Oilers get all the way to the Stanley Cup final in 2006, where they lost out to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games.

Pronger would get his Cup the very next season. The Oliers sent Pronger to the Ducks after he requested to be traded, and Anaheim went on to win the 2007 Stanley Cup over the Ottawa Senators in five games.

In 1,022 career games, Pronger has 124 goals and 464 assists for 606 points.

The move not only frees up cap space for the Ducks, it also lands them two promising forwards in Lupul and Sbisa.

Lupul, 25, returns to Anaheim after scoring 25 goals and 25 assists in 79 games with the Flyers last season. He'll make $4.25 million next season in the first year of a four-year contract extension he signed last July.

Lupul was taked seventh overall in the 2002 NHL draft by Anaheim and broke into the league in 2003-04 with the Ducks, scoring 31 goals and adding 21 assists in 75 games.

The Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., native was traded to Edmonton in 2005 where he spent one season before being dealt to Philadelphia.

In 372 career games, Lupul has 102 goals and 109 assists.

The 19-year-old Sbisa was taken 19th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2008 NHL draft.

The defenceman played 39 games with the Flyers last season, recording seven assists to go along with 36 penalty minutes.

Sbisa, a native of Ozieri, Italy, spent the 2007-08 season with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League, scoring six goals and adding 27 assists in 62 games.

Dingle had 11 goals and seven assists in 70 games with the Flyers' AHL affiliate in Iowa last season.

-- With files from Sportsnet