Pronger's prognosis remains uncertain
Chris Pronger's toughest questions these days most likely do not come from doctors, the media, or even Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren.
Chris Pronger's toughest questions these days most likely do not come from doctors, the media, or even Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren.
They likely come from home, as he deals daily with a concussion that was likely suffered first on Oct. 24 when he caught a stick in the eye against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Pronger, 37, has two hockey-loving sons, Jack (10), George (7), and one daughter, Lilah (3).
"It's been a tough go at home," Pronger's wife, Lauren, said in a revealing interview this week on Comcast SportsNet at the Flyers' Wives fashion show in Center City. "It's tough for all of us to watch him go through this. They're confused all the time.
"They ask him, 'Dad, when are we going to a game?' or 'Dad, when are you going to play?' He looks at them and says, 'Please don't ask me that question, because God knows I want to get out there, too.' "
The best way Lauren Pronger could describe her household is living "day-to-day right now," to steal a phrase that often flies around hockey locker rooms.
Pronger has not played since Nov. 19. By all accounts, he has shown little improvement since being ruled out for the rest of the regular season and playoffs on Dec. 14 by two Pittsburgh-area concussion specialists.
The Flyers, meanwhile, were holding out hope that Pronger would somehow be able to mend in time for a surprise playoff comeback.
"I still like to believe I am a glass-is-half-full kind of guy," Holmgren said on Thursday. "But I would say that the odds of that happening right now aren't very good."
Holmgren revealed that Pronger has since been prescribed glasses, which he thinks have "helped a little bit." Pronger is next scheduled to visit his doctors on Feb. 1, but therein lies the rub: His checkup may reveal no news at all.
Holmgren said that doctors told him that "concussions are like fingerprints," in that no two are the same.
"We'll have a little bit better idea of where we're at [then]," Holmgren said. "Or maybe we won't. I don't know. We obviously hope for the best with Chris. Over time here, we'll need to prepare for the worst. But I don't think we're at that point right now. I've talked to Chris enough to know that things haven't been going very good."
As previously mentioned, the unknown timetable of Pronger's injury - since it is impossible to know whether his head trauma is career-threatening or just season-ending - makes it tough for the Flyers to wrangle the salary cap as the Feb. 27 trade deadline approaches.
For now, the Flyers receive an equal cushion for Pronger's $4.9 million salary-cap hit to replace him on the roster. They have not used all of that cushion. They will continue to receive that salary-cap relief as long as he remains on the long-term injury list, which could be until his contract expires on July 1, 2017.
But that doesn't mean the Flyers wouldn't be willing to make a move, according to Holmgren.
"We're not going to make any rash decisions," Holmgren said. "We'll continue to look at the team for the present and future. And if something comes up that makes sense, then we'll see what we can do."
Back at the Pronger residence in Haddonfield, the Prongers are just hoping their dad feels like himself again soon. Asking about games, right now, seems out of the question.
"It's been a lot of trauma going on," Lauren Pronger said. "It's tough to watch him going through this. He's battling. He wants to be out there more than anybody. I think any player that has been concussed several times has good days and bad days. [Thursday] was not a good day. It breaks my heart. It breaks his heart. We're just praying right now. We're hoping for another good day tomorrow. At least, a couple good days in a row would be nice."
Slap shots
James van Riemsdyk did not practice with the Flyers on Friday, his fifth straight day without on-ice work after reporting a concussion on Jan. 14 in Nashville. There is no timetable for his return. Van Riemsdyk is the fifth Flyer to miss time with a concussion this season . . . Claude Giroux practiced with a new helmet on Friday, which he will soon be transitioning to game use. "Got to protect my head," Giroux said. He missed four games with his own concussion from Dec. 10 to Dec. 21.
Quotable
"The last few games, I'm playing frustrated. I'm playing out of position. I'm trying to do too much. I think I just need to relax. I had a meeting with [Peter Laviolette] today and talked about it. I think it's good to just put that behind you. I think, looking back, this stretch is just going to make us stronger."
- Claude Giroux on his 12-game run with just one goal.
After waking up each day as the league's No. 1 or No. 2 scorer for more than a month, Giroux has slid back to ninth with 50 points heading into the weekend action. Despite the struggles, Laviolette said he will continue to remain patient with his top line of Giroux, Jaromir Jagr and Scott Hartnell.
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