Pronger to Philadelphia

Chris Pronger has been traded from the Anaheim Ducks to the Philadelphia Flyers (along with Ryan Dingle) for Joffrey Lupul (a solid UFA), Luca Sbisa (a 1st round pick from last year), Two-1st round picks (21st this year and the other depends on the Flyers finish for next year) and a conditional 3rd round pick.

The Ducks had to make cap room with Scott Niedermayer deciding to come back next season. It’s understandable that the Flyers would want a tough, shut-down defenceman to help contain the high-flying divisional rival teams like Pittsburgh and conference rivals like Washington but the price seems pretty steep.

The physical edge Pronger is noted for in the past has resulted in several suspensions (source:ESPN.COM) and in the new NHL, the Nic Lidstrom model is more efficient. There’s no doubt Pronger is an elite d-man but at 35, that’s a lot of future for the Flyers to give up, especially with the trend being to build through the draft these days.

Interestingly, On July 3, 2006, Pronger was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for forward Joffrey Lupul, defensive prospect Ladislav Šmíd, Anaheim’s 2007 first-round draft pick (traded to the Phoenix Coyotes, picked Nick Ross), a conditional first-round draft pick (dependent on the Ducks reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in the next 3 years), and Anaheim’s 2008 second-round draft pick.