Chris Pronger

Chris Pronger saw the questionably edited picture - but wouldn't add fuel to the fire. The Flyers defenseman was featured on a poster in yesterday's Chicago Tribune with his bottom-half subbed out for a figure skater in a skirt and tights. Under the headline "Chrissy Pronger," it read that Pronger "looks like Tarzan, skates like Jane. " You stay classy, Chicago. Apparently, that's the best the Tribune could do - the same newspaper that featured a column saying the Stanley Cup finals were over after the Blackhawks took a 2-0 lead.

Flyers Notes BUFFALO - Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger continues to make progress as he rehabilitates his broken right foot, and no one is ruling out the possibility that he could return to the lineup next week. "I'm not sure," general manager Paul Holmgren said Wednesday. "We'll see how it goes in practice. " After being examined Wednesday by orthopedic surgeon Steve Raikin, Pronger was "given the go-ahead to move his rehabilitation to the next level," Holmgren said.

The Flyers, not quite defenseless but seemingly moving toward that distinction, will be without yet another blue-liner when the NHL season is scheduled to begin in October. General manager Paul Holmgren confirmed Monday that the team's already shallow pool of defensemen will be minus Andreas Lilja, who underwent surgery in his native Sweden late last month to correct a degenerative condition in his left hip. Lilja, 37, won't return until late October or early November at the earliest, according to Holmgren.

Just three days after he turned down an invitation to watch the Super Bowl with his teammates because he was battling headaches, defenseman Chris Pronger showed up at the Flyers' practice facility in Voorhees on Wednesday sporting facial hair. "Maybe he's growing his playoff beard already," left winger Scott Hartnell quipped. It was the first time Pronger, a future Hall of Famer whose career is in jeopardy because of post-concussion syndrome, had been with his teammates since a Christmas party about six weeks ago. Pronger, who declined a request to speak with the media, isn't expected to return for this year's playoffs.

THE COMPARISONS started on Sept. 17, 2008, when the "C" was first sewn on to Mike Richards' Flyers jersey. Heavy is the head that wears the crown in the Flyers' organization - where the iconic images of Bobby Clarke's blood-stained jersey linger in the minds of both fans and team executives. The "C" might even have been mistaken to stand for "Clarke" once or twice throughout team history, as each subsequent leader has tried to live up to the standard set during the organization's championship era. "I hate when people say this guy's the next Bobby Clarke," Chris Pronger said.

WHENEVER THIS salvaged (or savage) NHL season finally gets under way, after the votes are counted and the signatures dry on the contracts, the Flyers should name Claude Giroux the 19th captain in franchise history. Giroux is young. He turns 25 on Saturday, about the time training camp will open. He is the face of the Flyers. He is quickly becoming one of the most electrifying players in the league. He is well-respected and well-liked in the Flyers dressing room. And he will bring some much-needed stability to a leadership position which has changed more jerseys (six)

CHICAGO - Last June 26, on draft day, the price seemed steep. Paul Holmgren shipped fan favorite Joffrey Lupul, budding star Luca Sbisa, two first-round picks and a third-round pick to Anaheim for 34-year-old defenseman Chris Pronger. Off the bat, Pronger was the next past-prime star for whom the Flyers overpaid. He was the next Paul Coffey, the next John Vanbiesbrouck, the next Adam Oates. The trade jolted most of the Flyers to their core, losing a best friend in Lupul.

Chris Pronger finally led like a captain and the Anaheim Ducks finally played like the defending Stanley Cup champions - and avoided a nearly insurmountable deficit. Basically a nonfactor in the first two games Anahiem lost at home, Pronger scored two power-play goals after assisting on the first goal as the visiting Ducks built an early lead and held on for a 4-2, Game 3 victory last night over Dallas. The Stars blew a chance to take a commanding lead in the first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Chris Pronger and the St. Louis Blues stopped a streaking team - again. Pronger scored 30 seconds into overtime to give the visiting Blues a 3-2 victory over Toronto last night, ending the Maple Leafs' winning streak at eight games. "It's a huge win," said Pronger, whose team also ended Nashville's six-game winning streak Saturday night. "It's a great feeling to stop a team that's playing with that kind of confidence. It shows us how well we can play against some of the top teams in the league.