Flyers are Cup contenders with Pronger
The Philadelphia Flyers had their past two seasons ended by the Pittsburgh Penguins, so the Flyers knew they had to do something to defend against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
In getting Chris Pronger from the Ducks, the Flyers did just that, and they have certainly increased their chances of winning a Cup next year – not to mention their futures odds on WagerWeb.com. Pronger is one of the league’s premier defenseman and just the type of physical player the Flyers had to have.
“I think Chris Pronger is still one of the top defensemen in the league,” Flyers G.M. Paul Holmgren told reporters. “I think he makes everyone around him better. He’s a winner, he’s won a championship. He’s a tremendous character player, he works hard. I wanted a guy who would make life miserable for the other team. Chris is one of those guys.”
No single defenseman in the conference will be a more punishing physical presence than the 6-foot-6, 220-pound Pronger, who has never backed away from his rugged play. Having a top three of Pronger, Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn will give the Flyers the kind of defense corps they need to go against East stars such as Crosby, Malkin, Alex Ovechkin and Eric Staal.
“I made it sort of clear I would like to get a hammer, a guy who makes life miserable for the other team.
This is one of those guys,” Holmgren said. “I think we’ve made some strides in terms of revamping our defense over the last few years. You put Chris in our mix, and it makes our defense a good group.”
Pronger has one year remaining on a contract paying him $6.25 million, but Holmgren said he planned to sit down with Pronger’s representatives and negotiate an extension. The 34-year-old had 11 goals and 37 assists last season.
The Flyers gave up a lot to get Pronger, including 25-goal scorer Joffrey Lupul, so it’s clear the team is going for it next year.
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