Scott Stevens Versus Chris Pronger

[GlitchMarner]

Who was the better defenseman?

Click to read more...

 

[Isaac Nootin]

Pronger, easily.

 

[Regal]

Pronger was better, but you can make a case for Stevens having the better overall career

 

[Pitaya]

Stevens was a far more accomplished career

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Pronger was more a force , he pretty much carried 3 teams to the finals , but Stevens was no slouch, and in his later career reinventing himself from an offensive scoring dman to a shutdown hard hitting beast , 3 Cups, he won the Smythe the year Pronger won the Hart. So take your pick.

 

[M88K]

Pronger was more a force , he pretty much carried 3 teams to the finals , but Stevens was no slouch, and in his later career reinventing himself from an offensive scoring dman to a shutdown hard hitting beast , 3 Cups, he won the Smythe the year Pronger won the Hart. So take your pick.

Pronger carried the oilers and flyers but what other team?

 

[Pitaya]

Pronger was more a force , he pretty much carried 3 teams to the finals , but Stevens was no slouch, and in his later career reinventing himself from an offensive scoring dman to a shutdown hard hitting beast , 3 Cups, he won the Smythe the year Pronger won the Hart. So take your pick.

Saying Pronger was more of a ‘force’ than the guy who runs most of the big hits compilations on Youtube seems odd lmao

I get your point - though I think Stevens becoming a shut down guy for team need shouldnt negatively impact the outlook between the two simply cause his teammates did the scoring later on

 

[Mighty Makar]

Stevens was a beast and most likely the most feared hitter of all time. Pronger in his prime was scary! He won a Hart, ffs. He’s one of the best dman ever, imo.

 

[Legionnaire]

Pronger carried the oilers and flyers but what other team?

Ducks.

 

[LT]

Ducks.

I think you could make a reasonable case that the Ducks were a contender without Pronger. He certainly made them an absolute force, though.

 

[Legionnaire]

I think you could make a reasonable case that the Ducks were a contender without Pronger. He certainly made them an absolute force, though.

I guess that's fair but I thought he outplayed Nieds.

 

[Holymakinaw]

Pronger AINEC.

 

[82Ninety42011]

Stevens for me that guy was a beast offensively and then defensively he was the heart of the Devils teams that won 3 Cups. Pronger was great but where as Stevens hit like a truck Pronger hit people with his stick. Both great just choose Stevens personally.

 

[Bluesguru]

Got to go with Pronger. If his career didn’t get cut prematurely, he probably plays past 40.

Blues had Stevens, loses him as a penalty because they signed Shanahan as a free agent. Then Keenan trades Shanahan later on for Pronger.

So were the Blues better off? I’d say yes.

 

[Johnny Tomala]

Pronger was better, but you can make a case for Stevens having the better overall career

Pronger has better career than Stevens. Pronger is a member of Triple Gold Club, Stevens isn't. Also Pronger won Hart Trophy, Stevens didn't.

 

[Regal]

Pronger has better career than Stevens. Pronger is a member of Triple Gold Club, Stevens isn't. Also Pronger won Hart Trophy, Stevens didn't.

An award isn't a career and the Triple Gold Club is completely meaningless (NHL players didn't even play in the Olympics until Stevens was 33, and he made the playoffs in all but one season, so he wasn't exactly a World Championships staple. And seriously, no one in North America gives two sh!ts about the World Championships, so why is this a thing?) I mean, if we're counting the triple gold club, why not cup count 3-1 for Stevens? Stevens was less injury prone and played longer, so he had more elite seasons over his career, and played nearly 500 more RS and 60 more playoff games. He didn't have the high points of Pronger's career but was generally more consistent, including in the playoffs. Stevens didn't clearly have a better career but he has an argument for it.

 

[CanadianSniper]

Pronger without any hesitation.

 

[Voight]

An award isn't a career and the Triple Gold Club is completely meaningless (NHL players didn't even play in the Olympics until Stevens was 33, and he made the playoffs in all but one season, so he wasn't exactly a World Championships staple. And seriously, no one in North America gives two sh!ts about the World Championships, so why is this a thing?) I mean, if we're counting the triple gold club, why not cup count 3-1 for Stevens? Stevens was less injury prone and played longer, so he had more elite seasons over his career, and played nearly 500 more RS and 60 more playoff games. He didn't have the high points of Pronger's career but was generally more consistent, including in the playoffs. Stevens didn't clearly have a better career but he has an argument for it.

Agreed, at age 35 he won the Smythe, at age 36 he was 3rd in Norris voting (2nd AST as well) and even at 37 he finished 10th.

At age 19, his second season, he was already 6th in Norris voting.

 

[BrindamoursNose]

Stevens was better than history remembers, but Pronger by a good amount.

 

[nowhereman]

Pronger carried the oilers and flyers but what other team?

That Flyers team was pretty damn good, with Briere, Richards, and Carter all in their prime, Giroux coming up, Timonen, etc. I'm not sure you can make the case that Pronger "carried" them either.

 

[Muikea Bulju]

Pronger did it more on his own, had the higher peak.

However his career was cut a bit short when he was still a major force in the league (12 points in 13 games in his last season)

 

[spiny norman]

Lopsided result.