Flyers lose Pronger for rest of season with concussion

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By Chris DiFrancesco, Phila Phans’ Flyers beat writer

As if the last few days didn’t do enough mental damage, Thursday night brought more grim news to the Flyers organization.

Flyers captain Chris Pronger will be sidelined for the rest of the 2011-12 season due to severe post-concussion syndrome. Hopes are the 37-year old defensemen will be able to continue his career after this major setback.

Flyers GM Paul Holmgren released the following statement moments before the Flyers contest against the Canadiens.

“After consultation with respected concussion specialists Dr. Joseph Maroon and  Dr. Micky Collins, it is the opinion of both doctors that Chris is suffering from severe post concussion syndrome.

“It is the recommendation of doctors Maroon and Collins that Chris not return for the remainder of the 2011-12 season or playoffs. Chris will continue to receive treatment and therapy with the hope that he can get better.”

Not only is this devastating to the Flyers as a team, but also to the health and well-being to Pronger the human. As if the last 16 months haven’t been rough enough for the future hall of famer, add the harsh reality that his career might very well be finished.

Unfortunately, this seems like deja vu for the fans of the orange and black. Keith Primeau, Eric Lindros, and now Pronger. All three men have worn the ‘C’ on the sweater, and all of them suffered the same fate in the city of Brotherly Love.

Pronger, who’s already had a stick to his eye and knee surgery this season, probably suffered the head injury in either the Nov. 14th game against Carolina or Nov. 17th against the Coyotes.

In the Hurricanes game, Pronger went hard into the boards while attempting to break-up an odd man rush. Then against Phoenix, Martin Hanzel put a hard cross check on Pronger along the boards that seemed to shake the Flyers captain up.

After those two games Pronger was never the same.

Many believed the concussion symptoms came from the eye injury he suffered October 24th against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The following excerpt is from CSNPhilly.com’s Tim Panaccio’s Pronger story:

“Though it is uncommon, there is documented proof in medicine of ocular concussions because of an eye trauma. When Pronger spoke to reporters a few weeks ago, he said he wasn’t certain of any one incident that would have caused his concussion symptoms.”

The news of Pronger’s season ending came as a shock to many within the organization according to CSNPhilly’s Tim Panaccio. Flyers players did not know of their captain’s status until reporters informed after their 4-3 win in Montreal.

Now, where does the team go from here? After Thursday’s win the Flyers are 12-4-1 without Pronger in the lineup. However, with the Pronger on the shelf for the rest of the season, the Flyers must name an interim captain.

A positive for this team is their leadership group.

Kimmo Timonen and Danny Briere will be the front-runners to take over as the teams captain, however, guys like Max Talbot and Jaromir Jagr will also help this club moving forward with both Pronger and Claude Giroux.

Time will tell how the Flyers plan to react from the injuries to Pronger and Giroux. Will Holmgren make a trade? It’s doubtful he’ll do so before the trade deadline given how impressive Marc-Andre Bourdon has played in relief of Pronger.

Holmgren will definitely ’kick the tires’ with teams but will probably hold off pulling the trigger on a deal while his club continues to win games.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Right?

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Posted by Chris DiFrancesco on Dec 16 2011. Filed under Breaking News, Chris DiFrancesco, Featured News, Flyers/NHL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.