Pronger to Tavares: 'Keep Your Head Up'

by Travis Hughes on Dec 10, 2009 10:41 AM EST in Commentary Comment 24 comments

"I hit him in the first [Islanders-Flyers] game. He told me, 'Keep your head up.' I didn't realize he meant the whole season."

>> John Tavares, speaking about Chris Pronger (via Lighthouse Hockey)

Welcome to the NHL, kid.

Chris Pronger gave the first overall draft pick a less-than-legal shove to the back on Tuesday night, causing the wunderkind to knock his skull into the glass, chipping a tooth. Islanders fans across the hockey world were furious at the hit, egged on by Pronger's little smirk as he skated away from the scene of the crime.

Yes, it was a crime. Pronger was given a two minute penalty on the play, but nothing more. Did he deserve a suspension? Do Isles' fans have a gripe? Sure, but they'll be over it in a week. Is Tavares going to keep an eye out for Pronger when the Isles play the Flyers between now and 2017? You bet.

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now that is HOCKEY, I love Pronger was it a cheap shot yes was it a kill shot no, that is how it is done dirty but not career threatening

by chrislanci on Dec 10, 2009 10:50 AM EST reply actions

I agree, this is what Pronger has been know for and that game was really one of the first where he pushed the physical envelope a little more. Also the body slam of Biron put a period at the end of that scrum.

by M from Pdaddy on Dec 10, 2009 11:19 AM EST up reply actions

its little things like this that make me happy

“I didn’t realize he meant the whole season.” well, lesson learned

you callin me a know-nothin? sir, i'll have you know i happen to know very little.

by hockey punk on Dec 10, 2009 10:55 AM EST reply actions

Hopefully it sunk in with him. I’d hate to see him end up like Lindros… What a waste of talent.

by Kanayd on Dec 10, 2009 6:13 PM EST up reply actions

Next season he’ll realize Pronger meant his whole career.

"When you make your final stand
I'll be right there
I'll never leave
And all I ask of you is
Believe"

by The Dark on Dec 11, 2009 8:08 AM EST up reply actions

almost as good as Hatchers crosscheck to Crosby’s face in his 1st game versus the Flyers what made that better was that he talked about hating Crosby’s cocky attitude on 93.3 WMMR in the summer

by chrislanci on Dec 10, 2009 11:02 AM EST reply actions

As much as I enjoy that quote, and that Pronger does little things like that to keep teams on their toes, I wasn’t really a fan of this one because of the timing. It was right in the middle of us taking like four completely unnecessary, mostly discipline penalties (come on, briere, did sim really need that elbow? and giroux, i know witt had just cross-checked you for no call, but that doesn’t mean you had to chase him down the ice to return the favor. coburn flipping the puck over the boards is no discipline penalty but is certainly a sad mistake that any professional hockey player who was under as little duress as coburn was should never, ever make) which kept us on an almost perpetual penalty kill for about 6 minutes.

that said, a suspension would be an absolute joke. the hit wasn’t legal, he got a penalty. end of story.

by eeeeee on Dec 10, 2009 11:14 AM EST reply actions

at the time we did have a 3 goal lead so I am okay with Pronger’s timing and to Coburn’s defense he was on the backhand with that miss clear, I have a bigger problem with the Briere elbow

by chrislanci on Dec 10, 2009 12:06 PM EST up reply actions

for me, i have the biggest problem with giroux’s penalty, (and it pains me to criticize giroux because i absolutely love every part of his game) because that’s what got the whole ball rolling. at the time we were up 4-0, they had no momentum going for them whatsoever, and the play he was retaliating against really wasn’t bad at all. it’s lapses of discipline like that can change the complexion of a game in a heartbeat. do that against pittsburgh and it could end a totally different story. (i seem to remember us up 3-0 in the second period of a certain series-clinching game for the pens… though the comparison isn’t exactly apt because the mo didn’t swing on a goal scored on a PP that shouldn’t have been)

also, coburn was on the backhand by his own design, and as a professional i expect him to be able to bounce it off the boards on either hand, but if he has a problem with that then he should have flip-dumped it through the middle. but still, he wouldn’t have been in that PK situation if it weren’t for giroux.

by eeeeee on Dec 10, 2009 12:17 PM EST up reply actions

The hit may not of been legal but i also think it was embellished by tavares a little. Watching it live looked like a little bump on his shoulder and tavares spun and went airborn into the boards. That briere hooking penalty that was taken right after that was such bull though and also the “charge” on lappy was far fetched to say the least

by flyers17 on Dec 10, 2009 11:45 AM EST reply actions

The Flyers are guilty many times of taking the bait as it were. Briere’s elbow was a result of him losing his shit over being crosschecked repeatedly to the back of the head. Of course, the other teams’ players embellish because they know they’ll get the calls. Hopefully, the boys will learn how to control their emotions better now moving forward and turn the tables.

Interesting comment from Tavares about Pronger telling him to keep his head up. Surely Pronger isn’t the first person to mention this to the rookie? Isn’t that the first thing you learn as a hockey player?

by doubleh on Dec 10, 2009 11:53 AM EST up reply actions

or more importantly the refs will make the proper calls on the other team so we can get them back on the PP not with retaliation, I still think that if the refs would have call Bradley for the high stick Carcillo would have never went after him, and that little crosscheck Carcillo gave Bradley was nothing compared to the multiple shots on both Briere and Hartnell during the Islanders game

I wonder if having such a deadly powerplay like we did before the losing streak actually affects the refs thinking about giving you a powerplay on something that didn’t effect the play

by chrislanci on Dec 10, 2009 12:04 PM EST up reply actions

Apparently Lindros never learned it.

by Phalange on Dec 10, 2009 1:25 PM EST up reply actions

Interesting comment from Tavares about Pronger telling him to keep his head up. Surely Pronger isn’t the first person to mention this to the rookie? Isn’t that the first thing you learn as a hockey player?

His head was up, Pronger hit him from behind.

by MarioD on Dec 10, 2009 1:49 PM EST up reply actions

I was only replying about Pronger’s comment to him—just thought it was funny that Tavares remembered that conversation, that’s all.

by doubleh on Dec 10, 2009 3:54 PM EST up reply actions

Gotcha, thought you were saying he hadn’t learned the lesson yet.

by MarioD on Dec 10, 2009 8:06 PM EST up reply actions

It was a dirty hit that wasn’t met with a suspension for the same reason that carcillo would have been suspended if he did something half as bad. reputation is everything in the NHL.

Pronger is a seasoned veteran, a stanley cup winner, a first ballot hall of famer, and for the most part a very respected figure in the hockey community. He’s earned the respect of the officials and for that reason he’s able to get away with more. go ahead and say its wrong, but its just the way it works. its not just the NHL either. Traveling rules dont apply to Lebron James and Kobe Bryant in the NBA. any hit on Tom Brady is a roughing the passer penalty. The strike zone for a cy young winning pitcher is significantly larger than for a rookie making his big league debut. In a perfect world officials would call plays as they see them regardless of a players social status in the sport. However plays happen so fast and many of them are judgement calls. It’s just human nature to give the benefit of the doubt to someone who’s earned it with their exceptional career.

by njh3293 on Dec 10, 2009 2:16 PM EST reply actions

Pronger was voted the dirtiest player in the league and he has a reputation for dirty hits. I don’t think the refs or league give him any “star treatment”. He just doesn’t take dirty to the extreme that Carcillo or the other younger “dirty” players, Kaleta, Orr or dare I say Ovechkin, do. That was a late hit but he didn’t jump at him or crash into with a 15 ft skating start, he wasn’t trying to DESTROY Tavares. That stuff can seriously injury another player the play on Tavares was a an old school hockey cheap shot broken nose and couple of teeth worst case, serious neck or head injury not possible. Elbows, slashes and spears were the old school way of playing dirty today it has become flying forearms and high speed hits the the head which are much more dangerous.

by chrislanci on Dec 10, 2009 3:36 PM EST up reply actions

Guys, all that was, was a “welcome to the NHL” moment for Pronger. It’s his job. The first time we played them I specifically remember the hit that Tavares put on Pronger. The Isles gained the red line and dumped it into the corner. Pronger and Tavares were in a race to the puck and Pronger used his size to position himself to get the puck, and Tavares, being behind Prongs basically just shoved him into the boards with their own momentum, and hit him pretty good. Pronger proceded to give Tavares three crosschecks to the back. Not one, not two, but three. Tavares wen’t down on the third one because he’s a bitch and wanted to go after Prongs without the payback. Then Prongs went back to the front of the net, but the puck cycled to the other corner so he had to go help out. Who was one of the two Isles over in that corner? 91. Pronger, with his very good memory, gave him three more crosschecks to the back and he fell again. The six crosschecks didn’t draw a penalty because hockey is like no other game, where the game polices himself. Tavares was an idiot to try to hit Pronger and the refs let Prongs get his revenge. Jon Sim, seeing all this shit go down, finally came to the aid of Tavares, who was then on the ground, and Pronger took exception to this and crosschecked Sim. That got a penalty, because Sim isn’t a stupid rookie. Now is where some of you might remember this because on his way to the bench, Coburn and Sim started talking, and Cote came over and gave Sim a shoulder. In hockey the vets get certain privileges and the rookies don’t. Its how it goes. Cote and Coburn were probably saying to Sim that the rookie just got what was coming to him, and for Sim to step in and draw a penalty wasn’t what he was supposed to do, and that now he should keep his head up.

Was what Pronger did last game a penalty? Of course. Was it an undicipline move that hurt the club? Absolutely NOT. Hopefully the rookie learned his lesson, and ever time he sees the 6’6’’ number 20 in bright orange on the ice, he will not be as aggressive as he normally is… or else.

PS Go out and spend the 20 bucks on a book called “the code.” It’s all about the NHL’s retaliation code of conduct. Why they fight, when the fight, who they fight, its really a good book and it helps you learn about why shit like Pronger hitting the stupid rookie goes on and why it’s tolerated.

by orangeandblack20 on Dec 10, 2009 4:15 PM EST reply actions

I’ll have to check out that book, too.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Dec 10, 2009 4:52 PM EST up reply actions

Great book. If I didn’t loan out my copy, which will probably never be returned, I’d write a review. If anybody who’s read it wants to write one up, throw it in the FanPosts and if it’s solid I’d be happy to front page it.

Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Travis Hughes on Dec 10, 2009 4:56 PM EST up reply actions

I’d love to do that, but its such a long book with so many great topics I wouldn’t know how to start. After reading it i learned to watch hockey in such a different way. I was at the Canes game where we won 6-2 or something like that and I wittnessed one of the coolest things ever. Asham beat down a Cane but threw in one late punch after the game. Reading the book- late punches are clearly a no-no- I knew there would be immediate retribution. Right after the late punch, a Cane went right up to Carcillo, they spoke for about ten seconds, and fought on the next draw. Thats why I love hockey. If you f*** up the “code” someone else will have to fight your battle. Its really a never ending cycle.

by orangeandblack20 on Dec 11, 2009 9:01 PM EST up reply actions

I love it

As soon as an opposing team gets a star player of any sort, he’s a “bitch.”

Not usually the case in reality (except for Crosby), but it’s fun.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Dec 10, 2009 4:52 PM EST reply actions

Agreed

Tavares actually showed some balls with hitting Pronger. Crosby is a bitch and that is awesome, but Tavares has been impressive. I have lots of respect for Ovi and Malkin, if Tavares can play without whining it would be great to have another hated rival. I remember a post a few months ago saying that we should start to hate Tavares “before” the season, and looks like that’s been accomplished.

by orangeandblack20 on Dec 11, 2009 8:59 PM EST up reply actions

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