The Puckburgler

So Pronger was making news again this week with some more puck stealing antics. This poses the question, is Chris Pronger an awful sportsman, or a wise-ass pest?

Obviously this stuff goes back to the Finals, where Chris Pronger was labelled public enemy rather quickly in Chicago. Recall this interview after a spat with Ben Eager on the ice in the finals;

What happened?

"I couldn't hear him, I don't speak gibberish," said Pronger, who picked up a misconduct penalty at the very end and got into it with Eager.

Where's the puck, Pronger was asked.

"It's in the garbage," Pronger replied. "Where it belongs."

You shot a towel at Eager when he complained?

"So what," Pronger replied.

You're collecting pucks now?

"Why not? What's wrong? It's sitting there. What else is gonna happen to it? It's sitting there. Sure, why not. You got a problem with that?"

Are you gonna sell it on eBay?

"I don't know. Apparently, it got him upset. So I guess it worked, didn't it? It's too bad. I guess little things amuse little minds."

Petulant? No doubt. But I don't care what anyone says, the line about throwing it in the garbage is funny.

Some have decided that Pronger is just acting up like a poor loser. The guy has won two Olympic golds, one Stanley Cup, lost two other Cups in the Finals, and played over 1200 NHL games, including almost 150 in the playoffs. I don't buy that he is so overcome with bitterness at a loss that he can't control himself but to act like the spoiled kid on the playground who takes his ball and goes home if he loses.

After Adam Burish, who was a healthy scratch in the Finals said Pronger was "the biggest idiot in the league" who played terribly, and that he'd like to punch Pronger in the face next time;

C'mon that's funny.

Pronger probably relishes his role as infuriating rapscallion a little too much, but he is intentionally playing games with everyone. That's not such a bad thing. Remember, this is a sport where it's generally a well-respected "momentum shifting" tactic to pick a fight and punch a member of the opposing team in the face when they're beating you fair and square.