Should the Rangers and Friends Worry About the Bullies?
Prongers makes the Flyers one dangerous team
Posted on Monday, June 29, 2009 at 10:36 PMGood for the Flyers; they've solidified their reputation.
If they were the Broad Street Bullies before, the acquisition of Chris Pronger from Anaheim has turned them into the BROAD STREET BULLIES now.
This should inspire thought – if not concern – among the Rangers, Islanders and Devils; not to mention all points north and south.
Let's not kid ourselves; this Incredible Hulk called Pronger is an unholy terror.
And unless our three beloved Met Area amigos find suitable deterrents – FAST! – Pronger will be flicking his Mincemeat Machine on "High" the moment these teams clash.
When it comes to neutralizing Pronger, the Rangers had the best Bully-basher in Colton Orr.
Granted that CO was a KO-master, but not exactly John Tortorella's favorite when it came to homestretch ice time.
Should Glen Sather not bring Orr back to Broadway, I would suggest that a reasonable facsimile is in order.
Ditto for the Devils who saw firsthand what kind of gratuitous damage the big Bully, Pronger, can inflict. And I remember it vividly.
This was an incident last season in Anaheim; Devils vs. Ducks with only a couple of seconds left in a game long ago decided.
New Jersey's ace, Zach Parise knew that the final buzzer was about to sound and let down his guard. He did not bargain for Pronger who emerged from behind and delivered a devastating – as dirty as can be – crosscheck that felled the unsuspecting Devil.
Parise survived the blow – don't ask me how – and Pronger escaped without a penalty, but that's not the issue, although that is Pronger's specialty.
Such vicious, under-the-rulebook behavior was experienced only once in a blue moon by our local clubs when Pronger played in the West.
Now the scourge will be a regular occurrence in the East.
Surely, the Islanders will not want such laying-on-the-lumber inflicted on their latest prize, John Tavares; nor Kyle Okposo nor any other young talent.
Ditto for the Blueshirts and, certainly Parise and the Devils.
Each of the Met Area clubs has a whole Summer to produce a de-Pronger strategy.
And, by the way, this is not something to merely think about; for the good health of Scotty Gomez, Parise and Tavares, this is something Garth Snow, Lou Lamoriello and Sather must do something about – for safety's sake!
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