Chris Pronger (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #82)
Adjusted Stats
1993-1994 Hfd 79 GP 5 goals 23 assists 28 points 0.35 PPG
1994-1995 Hfd 73 GP 9 goals 16 assists 25 points 0.34 PPG
1995-1996 Stl 78 GP 7 goals 18 assists 24 points 0.31 PPG
1996-1997 Stl 79 GP 12 goals 25 assists 37 points 0.47 PPG
1997-1998 Stl 81 GP 10 goals 31 assists 42 points 0.52 PPG
1998-1999 Stl 67 GP 15 goals 39 assists 54 points 0.80 PPG
1999-2000 Stl 79 GP 16 goals 54 assists 69 points 0.88 PPG
2000-2001 Stl 51 GP 9 goals 44 assists 52 points 1.03 PPG
2001-2002 Stl 78 GP 8 goals 47 assists 55 points 0.71 PPG
2002-2003 Stl 5 GP 1 goal 3 assists 5 points 0.93 PPG
2003-2004 Stl 80 GP 17 goals 48 assists 65 points 0.81 PPG
2005-2006 Edm 80 GP 12 goals 45 assists 57 points 0.71 PPG
2006-2007 Ana* 66 GP 14 goals 49 assists 63 points 0.95 PPG
2007-2008 Ana 72 GP 14 goals 35 assists 49 points 0.68 PPG
2008-2009 Ana 82 GP 12 goals 40 assists 52 points 0.63 PPG
2009-2010 Phi 82 GP 11 goals 49 assists 60 points 0.74 PPG
2010-2011 Phi 50 GP 5 goals 24 assists 28 points 0.56 PPG
Adjusted Playoff Stats
1995-1996 Stl 13 GP 1 goal 5 assists 6 points 0.44 PPG
1996-1997 Stl 6 GP 1 goal 1 assist 2 points 0.35 PPG
1997-1998 Stl 10 GP 1 goal 10 assists 11 points 1.11 PPG
1998-1999 Stl 13 GP 1 goal 4 assists 5 points 0.42 PPG
1999-2000 Stl 7 GP 4 goals 5 assists 8 points 1.20 PPG
2000-2001 Stl 15 GP 1 goal 8 assists 9 points 0.62 PPG
2001-2002 Stl 9 GP 1 goal 8 assists 10 points 1.06 PPG
2002-2003 Stl 7 GP 1 goal 4 assists 5 points 0.68 PPG
2003-2004 Stl 5 GP 0 goals 1 assist 1 point 0.26 PPG
2005-2006 Edm 24 GP 5 goals 16 assists 21 points 0.87 PPG
2006-2007 Ana* 19 GP 3 goals 14 assists 17 points 0.90 PPG
2007-2008 Ana 6 GP 2 goals 3 assists 5 points 0.87 PPG
2008-2009 Ana 13 GP 2 goals 8 assists 10 points 0.79 PPG
2009-2010 Phi 23 GP 4 goals 13 assists 17 points 0.74 PPG
2010-2011 Phi 3 GP 0 goals 1 assist 1 point 0.33 PPG
Career - 1182 GP, 177 goals, 590 assists, 765 points, 0.65 PPG
Career-Highs - 17 goals (03-04); 54 assists (99-00); 69 points (99-00); 1.03 PPG (00-01)
Avg. (17 seasons) - 70 GP, 10 goals, 35 assists, 45 points, 0.65 PPG
Peak Avg. (98-07) - 63 GP, 12 goals, 41 assists, 53 points, 0.83 PPG, 1 Cup
Playoff Career - 173 GP, 27 goals, 101 assists, 128 points, 0.74 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 5 goals (05-06); 16 assists (05-06); 21 points (05-06); 1.20 PPG (99-00)
Accolades - 1 MVP Award, 1 Norris Trophy
All-Star Teams - 1-time 1st-team, 3-time 2nd-team
1-time Stanley Cup Champion
Alexandre Daigle first overall, Chris Pronger second overall. Ouch. Exhibit A for the people who argue the draft-schmaft philosophy that "there's no such thing as a sure thing" (usually the people making such arguments are Leaf fans defending the fact that they've traded away their draft picks for some washed-up star). In 1993, the Ottawa Senators drafted the person they thought was next in line with Gretzky and Lemieux. Daigle never scored more than 51 points. Pronger, on the other hand, has evolved into one of the best defencemen of his generation.
It wasn't obvious from the get-go that Pronger was going to be a superstar. In fact, with only 53 combined points and a combined +/- of -26 in his first two seasons, Pronger so underwhelmed the Hartford Whalers that they traded him to St. Louis straight-up for Brendan Shanahan (in a steal of a move by then-GM Mike Keenan). Shanahan, incidentally, was traded within two years for Paul Coffey and Keith Primeau. Nicely done, Hartford.
In his first four or five seasons, Pronger seemed a little uncomfortable in his own skin. He still needed to learn the intricacies of the game, as well as find his offensive edge. Fortunately, he had a great mentor in his St. Louis defence partner Al MacInnis. Slowly but surely Pronger started hitting his stride as he entered his mid-20s, culminating in his breakout 1999-2000 season, in which Pronger had 69 adj. points and was a stellar +52, good enough to win both the Norris trophy and the Hart as league MVP.
(As a side note about that MVP award, it always struck me as a little lame. Sure, Pronger's year was excellent, and the Blues won the Presidents Trophy before choking in the first round of the playoffs...but was it really worthy of Pronger being the first defenceman to win MVP since Bobby Orr? It's arguable that Nik Lidstrom, Larry Robinson, Ray Bourque and many others have had more impressive seasons. But this was at the height of the trap era, and everyone started convincing themselves that since defence was the name of the game, it was high time for a defenceman to win the award. I would have given it to the guy who ended up winning the Ted Lindsay award for MVP as voted by the players: Jaromir Jagr.)
Despite the fact that the Blues were perennially in the playoffs, they rarely made it past the first or second round, something that reflected poorly on Pronger even though it was almost never his fault. Pronger's career took a sharp turn, however, when he signed with the Edmonton Oilers and led a team that hadn't been past the first round in seven seasons to the Stanley Cup final. If Edmonton had won Game 7 against Carolina, it would have been Pronger, not Canes' goalie Cam Ward, who would have won the Conn Smythe award, no question about it. He was dominant throughout the playoffs, scoring 21 points in 24 games and putting up a +10 along the way.
No matter...Pronger got his elusive Cup the next season when, if the rumours are to be believed, his wife whined her way out of Edmonton and to Anaheim, where Pronger was teamed up with Scott Niedermayer. After a few more decent seasons with the Ducks in which Pronger was now unquestionably one of the most respected defencemen in the league (for his abilities, not for his play, which oftentimes crossed the line into cheap-shot territory), Pronger was traded to the Flyers. As he had done with Edmonton, Pronger put forth a stellar first season with his new team and led the Flyers to a Cup final, Pronger's third in five seasons.
So after a somewhat shaky beginning to his career, Pronger has emerged as a defensive staple on winning organizations. His career isn't quite as decorated as Scott Niedermayer's, and Pronger has been hampered by injuries in a few years, but he has been one of the most complete and consistent defencemen of the 2000s. Players may hate playing against him, but if you have Chris Pronger on your team, chances are you're in for a very deep run.
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