Best Philadelphia Flyers Trades Since 1990 #8: Landing Chris Pronger

Fans of the Philadelphia Flyers will still bring up losing Patrick Sharp, Justin Williams, or Sergei Bobrovsky before their prime NHL seasons. However, the conversations don’t include the best trades in Flyers history often enough.

The Flyers haven’t won a Stanley Cup in half a century. However, their competitive history in the top tier of the NHL has required some savvy moves.

You know plenty about the worst, but what are the best trades the Flyers have made since 1990?

June 26, 2009
Flyers Get: Chris Pronger, Ryan Dingle
Anaheim Ducks Get: Luca Sbisa, Joffrey Lupul, 1st-Round pick in 2009 (John Moore), 1st-Round pick in 2010 (Emerson Etum), future considerations

The 2007-08 Flyers came back with a vengeance. They reached the Eastern Conference Final and reopened a window for Stanley Cup contention. Their first-round playoff exit in 2009 against the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second straight year turned up the pressure.

Paul Holmgren pulled the trigger for the meanest defenseman in the NHL. Chris Pronger had led the Edmonton Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006 in his only season with the team. He lifted Lord Stanley as a core piece of the Anaheim Ducks in 2007. 

He became the top defenseman for a Stanley Cup Finalist in his first season with a new team for a third time in 2010.

Pronger scored 10 goals and added 45 assists during Philadelphia’s underwhelming regular season in 2009-10. He finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting for the NHL’s best defenseman.

His real contribution came in 24 playoff games in 2010. The Hall of Fame blueliner became the general the Flyers needed on the back end who played with unmatchable intensity in over 29 minutes per game during one of the most electrifying two months in franchise history.

He may or may not have also stolen the puck that Patrick Kane infamously floated past Michael Leighton to end the miracle ride.

Pronger played parts of two more seasons in Philadelphia. He was effective in 50 games in 2010-11 and eventually assumed the captaincy after the Flyers traded Mike Richards. An unfortunate injury in 2011 ended his career after just 13 games with the “C” on his Flyers sweater.

The Flyers sent a significant package to Anaheim to acquire Pronger. They lost two future first-round picks and a recently drafted first-round prospect. 

Luca Sbisa and the two players selected with the picks, Emerson Etem and John Moore, didn’t make contributions at the NHL level to make the Flyers regret the Pronger trade.

Joffrey Lupul replicated his performance as a good second liner in the ensuing seasons for the Ducks and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The organization’s aggressive strategy didn’t lead them to a Stanley Cup in 2010. However, they acquired a player who at his peak performance in orange and black played as well as any Flyers defenseman ever has during one of the most memorable playoff runs in franchise history.

Holmgren might’ve built overaggressively at certain points during his tenure. However, acquiring Chris Pronger was one of his best moves.