Chris Pronger officially joins NHL's Department of Player Safety
Chris Pronger, the former NHL defenseman and current Philadelphia Flyers employee, has officially been hired to join the NHL's Department of Player Safety, the league announced Friday evening.
Pronger, 40, was picked second overall by the Hartford Whalers at the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, and played in parts of 18 NHL seasons. The likely future Hall of Famer accumulated 698 points in 1,167 regular-season games, while amassing eight separate suspensions totaling 20 regular-season contests, and two playoff games.
Pronger hasn't appeared in a game in nearly three years, and is functionally retired. He's still an active player for salary cap purposes though, and technically remains a paid employee of the Flyers. Pronger's been on long-term injured reserve for nearly three years, and will remain there through the 2016-17 season.
Chris Pronger's contract situation remains status quo: He will remain on #Flyers' LTIR because that was the only option for team,NHL.
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) October 10, 2014
The Dryden, Ont., native is on a 35-plus contract, meaning his nearly $5-million cap hit would remain on the Flyers' books were he to officially retire. Instead, because of the convenient fiction that Pronger remains an active - albeit injured - roster player, the club is allowed to exceed the salary cap by an amount matching Pronger's averaged annual value every season.
In terms of actual salary, the Flyers owe Pronger $4 million this season, and $575,000 in both 2015-16 and 2016-17, according to capgeek.com.