Scotty Is Coming Back, Pronger is Traded to Philly

Ducks fans can now rest easy, Scott Niedermayer has made up his mind and he's coming back. Can't say I'm surprised, I never doubted he would come back. Now for the consequences of his return-- Defenseman Chris Pronger was traded to the Flyers in exchange for ex-Duck Joffrey Lupul, Lucas Sbisa, and 2 first round picks.

Source: AnaheimDucks.com

Pronger Suspended - 8 Games.

I think it's fairly reasonable. Aside from the NHL making a poor decision on how they handled the entire situation in general... Fair enough. Our Captain shall be well rested going into the playoffs, and well is there need to mention what our record is without him? Your call.

Here's the story:http://ducks.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=357029

And since I'm obsessed with quotes here's some of those as well, which can also be found in the story above at the end.

"I'd like to apologize to Ryan Kesler, the Vancouver Canucks, my teammates and the National Hockey League for my actions last Wednesday night," said Pronger. "While I did not intend to injure Ryan, I respect the league's decision on this matter and look forward to returning to the ice and leading my teammates into the playoffs." -- Chris Pronger

"We understand the NHL's determination to reduce skate-blade incidents and accept the process and Mr. Campbell’s judgment. We also stand behind our captain, a player with great character and leadership qualities that are critical to our club.” -- Brian Burke, GM

On Pronger’s eight-game suspension:
"That’s what the league has decided. We have to live with the consequences and deal with that. Now it’s an opportunity, that’s why you acquire players at the trade deadline and have depth in your lineup. We have the choice between Bergeron and DiPenta to go in. That’s just the way it is and we move forward."-- Randy Carlyle

On adjustments to the power play:
"It changes a little bit from the standpoint that we have two players to support that position. I just talked about Bergeron and now I moved Schneider into a more prominent role. We were specifically starting power plays with Pronger and Niedermayer and now we’ll start with Schneider and Niedermayer. We have the ability to come back with Bergeron and Huskins or Bergeron and Beauchemin. So we feel we have enough depth at the position, specifically for the power play and we’ll play to some players’ strengths and we’ll move forward as a team."-- Randy Carlyle

Reaction to the League’s decision:
"I don’t think ‘surprised’ would be the word. I think looking at other precedents and other situations that have happened, certainly as a League we don’t condone these types of incidents and obviously want to put these behind us and talk about the important parts of the game." -- Chris Pronger

On pleading his case to the league:
"I didn’t really plead my case all that much. There probably wasn’t too much to say, merely just to replay the incident to them and understand the League doesn’t condone instances like this. I expressed my sincere apologies and they did what they needed to do and I’d have to live with it." -- Chris Pronger

"First, I apologize to Ryan Kesler. Second, to the Vancouver Canucks organization. Third, to the Anaheim Ducks organization, the League and the fans. They obviously deserve an apology as well. This is not a place for these types of instances in our game."-- Chris Pronger

"We respect the process and we’ll abide by the decision." -- Brian Burke, GM

"I think what’s happened here is there’s a lot of sensitivity to anything related to skates right now. I would have to hope and believe any that the NHL disregards any kind of outcry when they evaluate these kinds of things. I have a lot more confidence in Colin Campbell that he’s never going to respond to media pressure. I know I never did when I did that job." -- Brian Burke, GM


Hm, pay attention to that last quote, by Brian Burke. Interesting...

Update on Pronger

With nearly a week left to go until the next game (Seriously!!) I figured I'd just make a entry to update you all on Pronger's status after his face-to-stick confrontation last night, as fans usually like to know this kind of stuff when they see a star player leave the game...

According to Adam Brady on the Ducks official Blog:
"According to Randy Carlyle, Pronger took “a gash across the bottom of his lip and lost some teeth” but he's not expected to miss any games."


No broken jaw, thank God! But ouch, he lost some teeth! And that gash probably doesn't feel too good either. He's a tough guy man... If I lost some teeth and had a gash below my lip, I'd be in the hospital crying like a baby, and I certainly wouldn't play in a game any time soon. OUCH OUCH OUCH! I don't even want to think about it. As the commercial goes, I wouldn't make it in the NHL.

EDIT: Hmm apparently it really is worse than they are reporting. But the official word is still the lost teeth and a gash on his lip... so who knows?

EDIT 2: They released info that Pronger had surgery on his jaw, but even so he is STILL a possibility to play Friday. Geeeez. Tough guy.

Prongs has a blog now...

... it's true. In his first entry he talks about Niedermayer's return. Among other things.

Chris Pronger's Blog!

Enjoy.