10 years ago.

[McPuritania]

I got home from partying, sat on the couch, and flipped on The Score to see if anything interesting happened during the day. I was good and drunk, and let loose a drunk sloppy yell. Good times.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Weber wasn't as physically imposing because he's not as mean.
Weber doesn't move the puck as well.
Weber doesn't skate as well.
Weber doesn't dominate positionally like Pronger did.
Weber hasn't won anything.

Chara has 2-3 years where he was certainly up there, but he wasn't as mean often enough, he was much slower and he didn't distribute the puck as well.

Since the 90's it's Lidstrom and Pronger and then there's a huge discussion for #3-#20.

You're Selling Niedermeyer really short.


Also if you're including the 90's, Bourque, MacInnis, Stevens, Leetch, and Coffey were all quite a bit more dominant.

 

[tiger_80]

Losing Pronger really set this team back many years. With him in the fold after the cup run, the Oilers would be in position to sign quality free agents. I don't know whether they would be good enugh to win it all in the next 5 years, but I feel fairly cmfprtable saying, they would be a perennial play-off team akin to San Jose or Anaheim.

 

[tiger_80]

You're Selling Niedermeyer really short.


Also if you're including the 90's, Bourque, MacInnis, Stevens, Leetch, and Coffey were all quite a bit more dominant.

Very different players. I would say Pronger was clearly more of a game changer than either. I have not seen much of Coffey, Bourque and MacInnis.

 

[bucks_oil]

Oh man... 10 years goes by so *** fast!

I was on road trip with my newly minted brother in law. He'd booked time off for a honeymoon with my sister, but she ended up called into work, so we kept it in the family (haha) and changed plans to a mountain biking, camping trip.

We stopped over in Halifax for a night on the town and I punched him so hard in the shoulder when TSN came up on screen than he spilled his beer all over the girl I was chatting up. Good trade!

I agree with the other posters... it was only one season, but man... there is no so dominant a player as CFP in the league today. I'd be interested to see the advanced stats on him that year, but he was just such a godsend to our team...

I honestly believe he MADE the career of Horc and Stoll (who were still so young). Playing as positional C's in front of Prongs must have reinforced so many of the hockey lessons they were wondering would translate into the NHL. All of a sudden you have a world-class rock playing behind you and it reinforces what you should and shouldn't be doing defensively as a C. The world moves from chaos to calm in a damn hurry.

Think about Seabrook... a poor comparison I know,... but do you think Toews becomes the player he is if not playing in front of Seabrook, Keith, etc? Or Bergeron in front of Chara? How much of it is environment vs innate? I honestly think a Dman of this quality is worth as much or more than a great coach... they really are foundational players and as a young forward, you *must know*, that when a goal goes in the back of your net with him on the ice... you better be asking what you did wrong and won't do it again.

 

[joestevens29]

I always like bringing up that trade when I hear people wanting to hold onto younger players and being afraid to make a deal.

 

[joestevens29]

Oh man... 10 years goes by so *** fast!

.

seems like just yesterday that we were in the streets burning a crib

 

[LTIR]

Weber wasn't as physically imposing because he's not as mean.
Weber doesn't move the puck as well.
Weber doesn't skate as well.
Weber doesn't dominate positionally like Pronger did.
Weber hasn't won anything.

Chara has 2-3 years where he was certainly up there, but he wasn't as mean often enough, he was much slower and he didn't distribute the puck as well.

Since the 90's it's Lidstrom and Pronger and then there's a huge discussion for #3-#20.

Weber would actually be a good comparison.. A top 3 Dman at similar age. Pronger didnt really show his domination until he joined the Oilers.. He was cerebral but wasnt really "faster" than Weber. Weber dominates the position as well as Pronger of STL.
Pronger won nothing for STL either.

 

[Dorian2]

I remember watching the news conference with Pronger and Peca. I think that was the first I heard the news..not sure though.

One thing that struck me with Pronger was how good he was. I had no idear he was that good.

The guy did everything well it seemed.

 

[thadd]

You're Selling Niedermeyer really short.


Also if you're including the 90's, Bourque, MacInnis, Stevens, Leetch, and Coffey were all quite a bit more dominant.

I'd take Bourque over doughty and most of those guys you listed. MacInnis didn't play a good enough all round game. Stevnens only looked that good offensively playing with good puck movers. Leetch and Coffey were borderline brutal in their own zone and flat out brutal during their first few years in the league.

I'd take Bourque over Niedermeyer, but IMO he's nowhere near Pronger or Lidstrom. Did either of Pronger or Lidstrom ever miss the playoffs in their entire career? I don't believe so.

Pronger/Lidstrom

Bourque
Niedermayer

MacInnis

Coffee


Stevens/Leetch

 

[thadd]

Weber would actually be a good comparison.. A top 3 Dman at similar age. Pronger didnt really show his domination until he joined the Oilers.. He was cerebral but wasnt really "faster" than Weber. Weber dominates the position as well as Pronger of STL.
Pronger won nothing for STL either.

Pronger never missed the playoffs.

 

[Quality Oil]

I was doing backflips as an 18 year old because we got Pronger, I had no idea it would turn in to the cup run it did though. What a fun time.

 

[LTIR]

Pronger never missed the playoffs.

So can we call him a playoffs choker then? Its a team game and STL hasnt gone past round 2 very often... Maybe once in past 20 yrs.

 

[joestevens29]

So can we call him a playoffs choker then? Its a team game and STL hasnt gone past round 2 very often... Maybe once in past 20 yrs.

Then wouldn't Weber he considered a playoff choker too?

For the record I think Thadd is really down playing Weber. Even if you think Pronger was better, it's not like Weber is some chump

 

[vb]

Some more threads:

Part II of Pronger (not sure why Guys teaser post appears first here):
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=157739

[I remember icedragoon as a mod]

Mike Peca trade (10 years ago today, August 3): http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=158565

 

[Replacement*]

Replacement was still replacement 10 yrs ago

I haven't even reviewed my comments.

But I remember thinking that it was twilight zone material for Pronger to be coming to the Oilers. This being the same guy that as a NHLPA rep who was fervent in his statements that small market clubs like the Oilers didn't belong in the NHL. I thought Pronger was a hypocrite to come here after his statements and never felt he would stay long or belong. He was a hired gun.

Also I have a perennial distaste for the St Louis Blues who pretty much since they got in the NHL have had a phoney tough style of play. A team that's tough in regular season that never does anything when it counts. Indeed the latter was one of my knocks on Pronger as well so I was surprised on how well he played in our post season.

All that said I don't like the Pronger personality. The player impressed me.

 

[Frank the Tank]

Weber would actually be a good comparison.. A top 3 Dman at similar age. Pronger didnt really show his domination until he joined the Oilers.. He was cerebral but wasnt really "faster" than Weber. Weber dominates the position as well as Pronger of STL.
Pronger won nothing for STL either.

He did have a Hart Trophy winning season in 1999-2000, an amazing accomplishment for a defenseman not named Bobby Orr.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Some more threads:

Part II of Pronger (not sure why Guys teaser post appears first here):
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=157739

[I remember icedragoon as a mod]

Mike Peca trade (10 years ago today, August 3): http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=158565

Still hold a grudge against dragoon and her heavy handed approach. But she was an HR manager so that explained a lot

 

[McDeepika]

In terms of his peak, I would say Pronger was the best player I have ever seen. Lidstrom has him beat with his consistency/longevity but when both were at their best, Pronger was better IMO.

Only player that comes close that I have seen is Jagr.

 

[guymez]

Going through that old thread it really dumbfounds me how anybody can bring themselves to be negative about acquiring a world class talent like Pronger for such a reasonable price.


Even Prongers contract extension was very reasonable.

There really is a contingent on here that is negative just for the sake of being negative.

 

[OilShookUp]

Super star forwards are cool and all, but...

...nothing gets me more excited than watching a dominant/intimidatiing defenseman doing his thing for 30 minutes a night.

That article reminded me how much I enjoyed watching Pronger in an oilers uni; so much so that no amount of reasoning my brain could produce would convince my heart that he wasn't my all time favourite oiler. (I was born in 1980, so I have no real appreciation for the dynasty players)

I wouldn't have traded him for anyone else in the NHL...sure Nick Lidstrom was widely considered the better defenseman, but not by this guy; If a defensemen doesn't put fear into the oppositions hearts then I have limited respect for his game and I would have chosen Pronger, Scott Stevens or Rob Blake over Lidstrom back in those days. (Schultz has an 'everest' type hill to climb to gain my respect as a defenseman)

And that brings me to what really excites me about watching the future Oilers teams, Darnell Nurse. I know McDavid and co. will certainly get me jumping out of my chair on many occasions, but what I am most looking forward to is watching Nurse develop into this generations Chris Pronger. I have a lot of confidence that he will...

 

[rboomercat90]

seems like just yesterday that we were in the streets burning a crib

I keep seeing this being brought up in different threads. I have no idea what it's in reference to. I must have somehow missed this story back then. What's it about?

 

[rboomercat90]

I remember them introducing Pronger and Peca that summer. Pronger leaving decimated the franchise, but having a strong NHLPA man in Peca hanging out with the likes of Horcoff and Smyth for a season did not help matters either.

Pronger may not have been as actively involved in the NHLPA as Peca was but he was just as much of a hardliner. I remember seeing him in interviews that lock out winter saying he wouldn't play for less than $10 million a year and the small market teams could all go to hell. It never made sense for either one of those guys to end up here. As fun as the Cup run was, nobody should have been surprised by how it played out.

More to your point, Horcoff became a completely different player after he got involved with the union. I remember reading about multi hour long conference calls with the union on game days and then him stinking the joint out on the ice that night. It wasn't hard to see where his loyalties lied. For a guy who had previously been such a team first player, it was tough to swallow.

 

[McKappa]

I was still just a young boy :3

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Some more threads:

Part II of Pronger (not sure why Guys teaser post appears first here):
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=157739

[I remember icedragoon as a mod]

Mike Peca trade (10 years ago today, August 3): http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=158565

I remember being underwhelmed by the Peca deal...and to be fair, he was below average offensively in the regular season (great on draws, shutting down top lines and on the PK)

but he was MONEY in the playoffs

Horcoff
Stoll
Peca
Reasoner
Murray

dat center depth