Pronger says he won't be 100 percent at start of Flyers camp

Chris Pronger, who had minor knee surgery on July 27, said yesterday he would not be 100 percent healthy for Flyers training camp.

And in news that might make Sidney Crosby and his mates happy, the rowdy defenseman said he might not be ready to play in the season opener at Pittsburgh on Oct. 7.

Pronger said the injury occured during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Boston on May 1. He said he was bothered by the injury throughout the remainder of the playoffs and into the offseason. While on vacation, he said the swelling persisted. After an MRI exam last month, the surgery to remove "loose bodies" from his right knee was performed.

Pronger, who turns 36 in October, was asked yesterday by Flyers public relations personnel whether he will be 100 percent for camp, which opens Sept. 17.

"No. I can tell you that much," Pronger said. "With the amount of atrophy, it is going to take a lot of hard work to build the leg muscles back up."

About the season opener, Pronger said: "I hope to be in the lineup . . . but it is still very early on in the process to begin guessing on a time frame. A lot can happen over the next few weeks and months but absolutely that is one of the goals."

Pronger was asked when he thought his knee would be 100 percent.

"I do not have a time frame," he said. "The team knows that. I spoke to the doctor and trainer and it is really just about when my knee feels good and strong again. I don't want to come back early and play a couple of games and then be out of the lineup and then play a few more and be out. I want to come back when the knee is as close to 100 percent as possible so I can play every single game from then on."

Pronger thought the injury affected his play in the playoffs.

"Yes, it was a little tighter," he said. "I didn't quite have the range of motion. But I think my play speaks for itself. Let's leave it at that."

He said the injury occured in overtime against the Bruins.

"It was a 3-minute shift to start the overtime," he said. "About a minute in, I was in front of the net when there was a scrum. I was on my knees and I got bent backward. I heard a big crunch. It didn't feel very good for the next 5-7 minutes. Eventually, the feeling came back and I was able to get a little bit of strength back.

"But from that game on I didn't have the usual strength in my knee. We did a lot of things through the rest of the playoffs to try and keep my strength up. I didn't practice anymore after that. I just played the games."

Pronger played all 82 regular-season games and 23 playoff games last season. He had 10 goals, 45 assists and 79 penalty minutes in the regular season. In the playoffs, he had four goals, 14 assists and 36 penalty minutes.

He averaged more than 25 minutes of ice time during the regular season and nearly 30 minutes in the playoffs, as the Flyers made a run to the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the Blackhawks in six games. *