The NHL Redux: Won't be another Pronger

Some players share skill and can compare overall likeness to new Hall of Famers Nicklas Lidstrom and Phil Housley - at least to a certain extent. And with all due respect to Sergei Fedorov, as brilliant as he was, it's a matter of hours before he's usurped as Russia's all-time leading NHL goal-scorer.

So in terms of truly singular, incomparable, never-to-be-experienced-again talent enshrined Monday, well, that distinction likely belongs to Chris Pronger.

He was a tyrannical anvil on ice. Hated, above all else.

Hated when he was acquired by the St. Louis Blues for golden boy Brendan Shanahan. Hated when he requested a trade from the Edmonton Oilers one season into his lucrative multi-year contract. Hated by his opponents, often times the media, and for being bigger and stronger than anyone in his 18 seasons.

Hated. But on Monday night, rightfully celebrated.

Early daze

It wasn't always this way, of course.

Pronger was living large as the ultimate frat boy in the early 1990s. He was an exceptional talent, but as inexperienced and insecure as he was polished and punishing. He was more interested in partying than having a sense of purpose, even circling dates on the calendar for when he could get "brain dead and wasted," as Sports Illustrated's Michael Farber wrote in late 1997.

As such, his conduct welcomed trouble. From failed fitness tests to two alcohol-related arrests (and a night in jail) in less than a month, Pronger's target as a 6-foot-6, 200-plus-pound second overall draft selection was only enlarged by his self-subverting behavior.

Pronger, though, would curb his festive lifestyle, turning a corner both personally and professionally under drill sergeant "Iron" Mike Keenan after his trade to St. Louis where, not coincidentally, he met his wife.

At 22, with the trust of another coaching giant in Joel Quenneville, Pronger earned autonomy over a room that included Brett Hull and Al MacInnis when he was named captain of the Blues.

In the seasons that followed, he filled into his body and up to the expectations placed on him. He learned how to cancel out the noise. He established a line and knew when to cross it. And he figured out how to dominate the clutch-and-grab era with calculated recklessness.

When he wasn't already into the body, he was in his opponent's head.

"You might spear a guy in the face, fight a guy, elbow a guy, slash a guy, or just make a clean body check," Pronger told Sports Illustrated in 2009. "If they don't know what I'm going to do, I hold the trump card.

"They're nervous Nellies. Maybe they'll move the puck a little too soon because they don't want to get slashed or speared again. I get people complaining to SI that I'm the dirtiest player in hockey and people say, 'I can't believe you like that.' I tell 'em, 'Why wouldn't I?' Means I'm doing my job.'"

He became the first and only blue-liner since Bobby Orr to win the Hart Trophy and Norris Trophy in the same season in his banner 1999-2000 campaign, when he played more than a half hour each night and finished with 62 points and a league-best plus-52 rating.

No spring chicken

Whereas his 20s were all about development, Pronger's 30s were about channeling it.

He carried an average Oilers team to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in the spring of 2006 (and should've won the Conn Smythe Trophy) before returning to the culminating series one year later and winning it all with the Anaheim Ducks.

Then a few months after helping anchor Canada at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Pronger brought a third organization in five seasons - the Philadelphia Flyers - to the finals with some of the most dominant, villainous, career-defining hockey of his career.

"It's old hat now," Pronger said of quickly becoming the chief protagonist to the Chicago Blackhawks, via NHL.com. "I think we all understand the game is there for good entertainment. People are paying a lot of money to see a good game. If they want to love to hate somebody, then so be it."

He made headlines in that series for stealing game pucks, his open-mic sessions with the media, but above all else, the 35-year-old got the better of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane - the pair who perhaps best represent on-ice excellence in a game that trended away from what originally made Pronger great.

That was his brilliance. His dominance endured despite his personal timeline and the direction the game went. It was that way until the end, when his career was cut short after 18 seasons.

Now in the Hall, but not officially retired, and on both the Arizona Coyotes' and the NHL's payrolls, Pronger - who received eight suspensions in his career and was voted the dirtiest player several times over - is now working with the Department of Player Safety to help determine what's legal.

Different man, different role, but still handing out punishment.

There won't ever be another.

THE TEN

10. Rasmus Ristolainen: Two goals including a final-minute game-winner in Ryan Miller's return to Buffalo, but Ristolainen grabs ranking with his celebration - the abbreviated Yakupov.

9. Mikael Backlund: The Flames' second-line pivot broke out of his woeful slump this week, backing up his overtime winner versus the Flyers with three assists against the Penguins.

8. Killer Ds: Max Domi and Anthony Duclair ran their combined total to seven goals in two games versus the Ducks.

7. Jake Allen: Allen clamped down after Brian Elliott was blitzed by the Blackhawks, making 27 saves for a win in relief before securing a 45-save shutout of the Predators three nights later.

6. New York Rangers: The Blueshirts are still not getting their due. Road wins over the Avalanche and Coyotes without Rick Nash pushed their winning streak to a league-best five games.

5. Sam Bennett: Two Flames? Perhaps overkill, but this goal was marvelous.

4. Anaheim Ducks: It was a massive week for the Ducks, Ryan Getzlaf's overtime bumble notwithstanding. They took seven points in seven days and are now just two points out of a playoff spot.

3. Alex Ovechkin: Ovechkin matched and then appeared to surpass Fedorov as Russia's all-time leading scorer Saturday - needing 476 fewer games. His second goal was disallowed, unfortunately, but that just means he'll command a higher ranking next week.

2. Patrick Kane: It was obviously an important week for Kane on a personal level, but we'll stick to hockey. He extended his goal-scoring streak to four games with three goals and seven points in three outings.

1. This Hall of Fame Class: We weren't shortchanged this year.

THE TAKES

1. Goalie interference really shouldn't be this difficult.

This is easy. Let the paint make the ruling. If a player, let's call him Brendan Gallagher, enters the crease by himself and impedes the goaltender, call it no goal. If the goalie initiates the contact by sliding or stepping out of the crease, let 'er go.

2. Speaking of Gallagher ...

How's this for efficiency: He has an 88.9 percent goals-for rate at even strength (despite being responsible for disallowed goals in consecutive games). That's best for those with 200 minutes.

3. Scoring means so much more than shots.

The Hurricanes and Maple Leafs, both top-10 possession teams averaging more than 30 shots on goal, are scoring 2.14 and 2.07 goals per game. For all the good these teams are doing, they simply don't have the talent to make good on their looks.

4. Why is Patrick Sharp rotating off the Stars' top line?

Well, Seguin-Benn-Sharp are absolutely lethal offensively, but a bit leaky together. But if they shore that up ...

5. Colton Parayko is crashing the Calder party.

The Blues' rookie defenseman has been incredible. Five goals, three game-winners, and 10 points in his first 14 games. And right now, he's the most efficient D-man on the roster.

6. But watch out for Dylan Larkin.

Pavel Datsyuk is on the mend and on his way to center the rookie and Henrik Zetterberg.

7. James Neal needs a talking to.

Sure, his blindside hit didn't target Zach Parise's head, but it was intentional, malicious, and just as bad. And he tried it again later in the game.

8. Brandon Manning and Michael Del Zotto don't, though.

Sorry, Don.

9. Tomas Fleischmann as the thriftiest purchase.

He's produced almost 1.25 points per every 20 minutes at even strength.

10. And what's up with Tampa Bay?

Seven wins and even goal differential through 16 games. Yeesh.