The PuckPedia Hockey Show Episode 28: Olympic Hockey Medal Round Preview ft. Chris Pronger

On Episode 28 of The PuckPedia Hockey Show we welcome two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Hart and Norris Trophy Award winner, six-time NHL All-Star, Stanley Cup Champion and Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Pronger.

We start off the episode talking about Chris’s background (2:30) and how he didn’t go the conventional path, playing high school for a couple of years, and planning to go the NCAA route before going to the OHL with Peterborough.

Then he was drafted 2nd overall in the NHL to the Hartford Whalers (7:00). He played a couple seasons there before being traded for Brendan Shanahan to the St. Louis Blues. His first couple of years were a struggle, but Wayne Gretzky was able to take the heat off Chris. He was named captain in his third season.

He talks about a serious situation where he suffered a cardiac arrest during the 1998 playoffs when he took a slapshot to the chest (12:00), but somehow returned to play 48 hours later. Then we dive into his 1999-00 season when he won both the Hart and the Norris trophies. He was the first defenseman to win the Hart Trophy since Bobby Orr in 1971-72.

Then we talk about his first crack at the Stanley Cup in 2006 with the Edmonton Oilers (18:30), losing in 7 games to the Carolina Hurricanes, and how heartbreaking that was. Then Chris finally breaks through in 2007 winning the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks (20:00). We talk about that team and how they were able to accomplish this feat.

Then we get into the end of his career, and how the NHL looked into his contract with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2009 for salary cap circumvention (22:30). He signed a 7-year deal that would have taken him to age 42.

Then we talk about this year’s Olympic team and how Team Canada looks through the group stage as they prepare for the medal round (27:30). Chris loves the “checking line” of Sidney Crosby, Mitch Marner, and Mark Stone. We also talk about how Jon Cooper is able to load up the top line of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mark Stone.

He goes through his experiences in his four Olympic experiences and how Canada will need to prepare to win Gold. We also talk about Team USA (37:00), what they have done so far and how the fight the Tkachuk brothers bring can lead this team to Gold.

We wrap up the episode talking about Chris’s book EARNED (40:00), which comes out on April 14, and how if you pre-order it now you receive a lot of bonus features such as a podcast interview with Chris, Jon Hamm, and Joe Buck.

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