Chris Pronger

MacDonald4MVP

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Pronger is like Lindros. It isn't terribly likely that we'll see his sort again any time soon.


The way he could control the flow of a game was incredible to watch.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't hedman as big of a freak as as Pronger was?
 

Beef Invictus

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't hedman as big of a freak as as Pronger was?


I'll let you know when I see him halt opposing rushes and cause a dump-in that leads to a change in posession just by standing in the right place as they hit the blue line, and doing nothing else.
 

MacDonald4MVP

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I'll let you know when I see him halt opposing rushes and cause a dump-in that leads to a change in posession just by standing in the right place as they hit the blue line, and doing nothing else.
Okay this is turning out to be an interesting debate. Take the size thing away, who do you see as most defensively dominant d in that situation now?
 

Beef Invictus

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Okay this is turning out to be an interesting debate. Take the size thing away, who do you see as most defensively dominant d in that situation now?


Still Pronger. Pronger was able to defend without utilizing his size. When his skating was diminishing it didn't matter because he could dictate the pace and slow it to his level.
 
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MacDonald4MVP

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Nobody approaches that though. Kind of like how nobody has done what Lindros could do since.




It's pretty insane that Pronger and Lidstrom shared a league together. The 80s and 90s lingering into the 2000s were an insane time.
Obviously not talking Pronger level, but who do you view as best?
 

Beef Invictus

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Obviously not talking Pronger level, but who do you view as best?


I don't know. That's hard to pick. Nobody stands out heads and shoulders above everyone else. It can vary season to season, and also within seasons.


Hell, I saw games this year where Karlsson was amazingly efficient on defense, not so much because he overpowered guys or shut down half the ice, but because if he touched the puck for a nanosecond that was the end of offensive pressure; the ice just tilted heavily to the other end.
 

BackToTheBrierePatch

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Having Pronger on your team, meant several wins at least extra to your team before the puck even dropped. he would be in players and coaches heads on the opposition more often than not.
He had the best combination of hockey IQ, skill, and his play in all 3 zones on both sides of the puck. Add into that and was one of the meanest SOBs ever to lace em up.
No, I can say there will never be another player like him for a very long time. if not ever.
 
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Beef Invictus

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Having Pronger on your team, meant several wins at least extra to your team before the puck even dropped. he would be in players and coaches heads on the opposition more often than not.
He had the best combination of hockey IQ, skill, and his play in all 3 zones on both sides of the puck. Add into that and was one of the meanest SOBs ever to lace em up.
No, I can say there will never be another player like him for a very long time. if not ever.

It was fun watching him thread passes from the goal line to the opposing blue line. Or routinely bombing shots from the goal line that actually hit the net.
 

MacDonald4MVP

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Lol I just looked at who had highest corsi against relative in 2009/2010 and first two names were Niskanen and Stralman who were both 23 year old. Next season Stralman wasn't even qualified and Niskanen was a throw in in a trade.
Edit: year before that fat Schenn was the worst lol.
 

46zone

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Don't see another Pronger coming along. No one plays like him anymore, the league is much softer.

Always wondered how much better the '11-'12 team would have fared had Pronger not suffered his career ending injuries. That injury also sent Holmgren's into a death spiral of bad moves in order to fill the hole Pronger left.
 

wankstifier

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Thought this was worth mentioning: In his deep SCF runs with the Flyers, Oilers, and Ducks, Pronger averaged ~30 minutes a game. I was complaining about Provorov playing too much this season. Pronger played as many minutes in those 66 playoff games.
 

DrinkFightFlyers

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Not sure anyone has the "complete" player situation like Pronger. Hedman is probably closest but he doesn't have the mean streak. Buff is also close but he doesn't have the defensive acumen. Burns maybe a little too, but he is way more offense than defense but he can also throw the body around.
 

MacDonald4MVP

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Not sure anyone has the "complete" player situation like Pronger. Hedman is probably closest but he doesn't have the mean streak. Buff is also close but he doesn't have the defensive acumen. Burns maybe a little too, but he is way more offense than defense but he can also throw the body around.
Burns and Buff put together amount to 50% a player pronger was lol.
 

DrinkFightFlyers

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Burns and Buff put together amount to 50% a player pronger was lol.
Well yeah pretty much every player in the NHL is in thay ballpark. Pronger is a first ballot HOFer. Maybe my post was worded poorly but I was talking about a player having the complete package of offense, defense, and meanness. Hedman is probably closest but not as mean. Buff has the offense and meanness but his D is lacking and Burns has way more offense and can throw his body but doesn't have the defensive acumen.
 

bobbythebrain

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Well yeah pretty much every player in the NHL is in thay ballpark. Pronger is a first ballot HOFer. Maybe my post was worded poorly but I was talking about a player having the complete package of offense, defense, and meanness. Hedman is probably closest but not as mean. Buff has the offense and meanness but his D is lacking and Burns has way more offense and can throw his body but doesn't have the defensive acumen.

Pronger is clearly #1

As for recent guys, I totally agree with your assessment here. If Hedman became more physical tho, he could make a strong case

I would put Doughty in the convo. He throws some nasty hits and can be dirty at times also. Probably the most complete dman atm
 

whcanuck

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His size and power helped him to control games. Plus he had extraordinary passing ability, vision and an extremely hard shot. He was almost the perfect defenseman. He went over the line a lot, but his physical nastiness made him a nightmare to play against. One thing I remember, his shots always seemed to get to the net, almost never blocked. Maybe his height gave him better vision of where to shoot the puck and where not to. He was the rare player that could slow the game down to his pace. Everything just looked so easy and effortless for him,
 
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