Chris Pronger, Canadian ice hockey player
Christopher Robert Pronger ( or ; born October 10, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who was a senior advisor of hockey operations for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Originally selected second overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, Pronger has played for Hartford, the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers before the 2009–10 season. He was captain of the Blues, Ducks and Flyers. He has appeared in the Stanley Cup finals with three different teams (Edmonton, Anaheim and Philadelphia), winning the Cup with the Ducks in 2007. Pronger won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player for the 1999–2000 season, becoming the first defenceman to win the award since Bobby Orr in 1971–72. A mainstay on Team Canada, Pronger won Olympic gold medals at the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympics and is a member of the Triple Gold Club. In 2017, he was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history.He has not played since November 2011 due to post-concussion syndrome related to three separate hits suffered during his career; he also suffers from vision impairment due to being hit in the eye(s) by the blade of another player's stick. In October 2014, Pronger signed a contract with the NHL to assist its Player Safety Division, and he assists the NHL's Player Safety Division involving St. Louis Blues.
Despite his skill as a player, Pronger was considered one of the NHL's dirtiest players and was suspended eight times during his NHL career.The St. Louis Blues retired Pronger's No. 44 on 17 January 2022.