Pronger, who declined a request to speak with the media, isn't expected to return for this year's playoffs. In fact, no one knows whether he will ever play again.
But his 90-minute visit in the locker room before Wednesday's practice lifted the spirits of his teammates.
"It was nice to see Chris," center Danny Briere said. "We all know and understand he's been having a hard time, and we all would if we were in his situation. It's tough to be away from the game that long. We're all competitors. We want to be out there.
"He seemed happy. Not lots of joy, [because] I'm sure he'd rather be dressing with us," Briere added.
"Just seeing him around the locker room gives us a little bit of encouragement," rookie winger Matt Read said. "He's still part of our team, and we know he's our captain. It's good to see his face once in a while, come in and say a few words. It means a lot to all of us."
Hartnell, who leads the Flyers with 25 goals, said Pronger "looked a little down. [I'm] not going to lie. But to see him at the rink was good. We haven't seen him in a long while. For him to be here might lift his spirits as well."
Pronger, 37, hasn't played since Nov. 19 in Winnipeg. The Flyers have not named a temporary captain. Instead, Claude Giroux usually has joined Briere and Kimmo Timonen as alternate captains.
"I know the city loves to have their captains, but in the room it doesn't matter who has the C or not," Briere said. "It's not something that is needed. It's a team, and you need everyone to chip in, leadership-wise. He's still our captain."
"It was good for me to see him . . . that there is a Chris Pronger still in this world," Hartnell said with a smile. "I hadn't seen him for a month and a half. I chatted with him a little bit but didn't want to ask how he was doing. You get from our trainers that he'd had two good days and three bad ones, so I just tried to see what's up and just talk to him."
