Not Good News on Pronger

There have been some rumors floating around about Pronger not being ready for the start of the playoffs, but I wasn't sure what to make of them and chose to be optimistic.

Given that Pronger is not practicing today, and that the Flyers put Matt Walker on re-entry waivers today, maybe the word that game 5 or game 6 is a "optimistic" return date is accurate.

Let's recap this mess;

-March 10, Pronger misses game with "upper body injury"

-March 12, Pronger gets wrist brace, then cast. Sits in press box with Homer for first time ever (according to Panaccio). Homer says he is day-to-day.

-March 14, Pronger doesn't shoot in practice.

-March 15, surgery, goes well, out 3-4 weeks.

-March 17, Pronger says he feels better, wants to get in a few games before playoffs (which start April 14)

-March 21, Pronger practices, no passing or shooting.

-March 23, Pronger in yellow caution jersey at practice

-March 24, Pronger "taking hard shots", 9 days after surgery.

-March 25, Pronger admits "overdoing with shots this week," has some pain.

-March 31, "setback", doubtful for regular season games.

-April 7, teammates says they expect him to be ready for playoffs.

It's hard to know what happened between March 25 and March 31, but taking slapshots on a broken hand less than 1.5 weeks into a 3-4 week recovery period was incredibly stupid. Is there anything more stressful on a broken hand than slapshots? If he misses playoff time (which is looking likely), the Flyers only have themselves to blame for being stupid.