Chris Pronger=Ulf Samuelsson?

At first glance, to the hockey fan such an equivalency, even a rough one, appears patently absurd. Yet, in a conversation this week, the comparison was explored. And, upon further merit, the comparison is not quite as outlandish as it would appear at first blush.

First, to deal with the objections. Yes, of course Chris Pronger has played, for the most part, in a different NHL than the one in which Ulf Samuelsson played. And yes, of course Chris Pronger is far more of a complete defenseman than Ulf Samuelsson ever was. Pronger can body-check, kill penalties, but he can also play more than half of a 60 minute game because he is (to put it mildly) an effective power play quarterback who excels at such things as the outlet pass and keeping the puck in at the blue line. Honestly and upfront, it must be acknowledged that Pronger always has and always will be a more complete defenseman than was Ulf Samuelsson, even in Samuelsson's heyday.

However, Pronger and Samuelsson share certain similarities that--whether you loved or hated Samuelsson or adore or abhor Pronger--had the potential to make both of them extremely effective defensemen in the postseason.

Nasty: Just as Samuelsson physically punished his opposition, so, too, does Pronger physically punish his opposition. And here I am not necessarily talking about those "borderline" plays, but just about the fact that when it comes to bruising bodychecks, Pronger and Samuelsson share that both defensemen hit, and hit with full-force.

Edge: Playing with an edge goes beyond being merely nasty. In his prime, Samuelsson was as edgy as they came. Samuelsson would do whatever was necessary to give his team the competitive advantage, although he had to learn how to maintain control in critical situations. Likewise, Pronger has always played with a fierce, competitive edge, and while the 2006 playoffs showed he'd grown leaps and bounds in terms of controlling his edgy play, Pronger, like Samuelsson, will always play on the edge.

Borderline Dirty/Just Plain Dirty/Cheap Shot Artists: All of the above charges were levelled against Ulf Samuelsson. All of the above charges have been levelled against Pronger during the 2007 postseason. As for Samuelsson, well, he is blamed for prematurely ending the career of the great Boston power forward Cam Neely with knee-on-knee hits. Pronger is accused of using his elbows (e.g. which are higher than other people's elbows, thank you very much, Brian Burke and Randy Carlyle) to give hits from behind that result in concussions to the opposition. Pronger is basically accused of head-hunting.


Whether fans of Ulf Samuelsson or Chris Pronger like it or not, all three of the above "charges," but in particular, the last, have merit. While I heard a comment that this week where a longtime hockey fan wondered aloud if all "real" defenseman (e.g. not rovers, primarily offensive stars a la Paul Coffey) were a bit borderline dirty anyway. Over the course of their careers, at various times, the "dirty" charge was levelled against players like Scott Stevens and Chris Chelios, too. And frankly speaking, from a "rational", e.g., as unbiased as possible perspective, Chris Pronger and Ulf Samuelsson share this in common: At minimum, throughout their careers, such players have committed acts that rightfully have them labeled, minimally, as borderline dirty players.

Yet there is one more category that both Chris Pronger and Ulf Samuelsson share, and it is what I have now dubbed the "Sidney Crosby treatment."

Universally Loathed by the Opposition/Universally Loved by the Home Team:
If an effective Pronger in his prime or Samuelsson in his prime is starring for your particular team, you love them. I make no bones about this. Go to any Edmonton Oilers blog and read the masses of adoring odes to Pronger throughout the 2005-06 season and 2006 postseason. Read the vitriol spewed by fans of opposing teams toward Pronger last season and this season. Pronger is pretty much universally detested, just as Ulf Samuelsson was in his heyday.

As a Pens fan who rooted for a team laden with future HHOF talent, Ulf Samuelsson stood out from the typical Pens star. But make no mistake about it: The man they called Ulf was a star in his own right. Ulfie thrilled the Penguins faithful and was adored and respected by his teammates. He was a nightmare for opponents and a dream come true for the home team. Oh, and his nasty edge and consistent defense helped to provide a backbone to two Stanley Cup winning teams that probably, in all honesty, never could have captured the Cup without his play solidifying a group of out-of-this-world offensive stars.

When I watched the start of Game 3 of the Finals, it occurred to me that Ottawa fans were giving Chris Pronger what I have come to refer to as the Sidney Crosby treatment. I briefly wondered if the Canadian faithful were upset that Pronger demanded a trade from another Canadian team last summer. And, then, of course, I snapped to my senses. Say whatever I will for Ottawa fans, but fans in Canada's capital know hockey. They knew that without Pronger having a "forgettable Game 3,: as an AP article later noted, that their team was likely to be down in a pretty much insurmountable 3-0 hole. They knew that Pronger, just like Crosby, had the ability to impact a game, and in impacting a game, alter the course of a series.

Of course, muddled in with the acknowledgement that players who've been nominated at some point in their careers for MVP trophies merit a bit of fearful backlash from opposing fans, so too must the acknowledgement come that with Pronger comes not just the "Sidney Crosby treatment" but the "Ulf Samuelsson treatment." Sure, opposing fans boo Crosby and Pronger because they know such star players can hurt the home team. But fans boo Pronger not just because he can hurt the home team on the scoreboard. They boo Pronger, the way they booed Samuelsson, because Pronger has shown that he can, quite literally, hurt the opposing players.

So is Ulf Samuelsson to Chris Pronger really a fair comparison, a decent equivalency? Honestly. No, not quite. Very few players are blessed to play on teams as talented as the Pittsburgh teams that captured Cups at the start of the nineties, but Samuelsson did. And in winning those Cups, Samuelsson forever etched himself among players who will always be "universally adored" by Penguins fans.

And until Pronger captures a Cup, whether it's fair or not, and this despite his overall far higher skill level than Ulf Samuelsson, as in potentially Hall of Fame skill level, Pronger's "borderline dirty" attributes will never outweigh his ridiculously obscene skillset, even in the eyes of the home team that adores him.

But if and when Pronger captures a Cup, well, of course anyone who actually stumbled upon this blog will read this post and roll their eyes. Because Pronger is a far more complete player than Ulf Samuelsson ever was, but both defensemen share certain attributes that opposing fans (to put it politely) loathe. Unfortunately for Pronger, players of his ilk are measured by championships won, and not just by how close they came to winning a championship.

All that being said, however, including the statement that Pronger has been, is, and probably will always remain an obscenely skilled but borderline dirty player, I'd still welcome him, or a player like him, to my Pittsburgh Penguins. Our blueline and our team of youthful, speedy stars, could surely use an edge on the blueline. And, as far as "dirty players" go, 2 Stanley Cup victories helped to ensure that Ulf Samuelsson will remain universally loved in Pittsburgh.

Saying everything I've said about Pronger in this post, perhaps the best thing I can say is that I would still take him on my team, and that I still agree with his coach Randy Carlyle that his positive attributes (as a complete defenseman) far outweigh his negative attributes. Of course I wouldn't want Pittsburgh GM Shero sacrificing any of the Pens' future to obtain Pronger or a player of his age who is like him, at least not at this juncture in the team's development.

But the 1991 and 1992 Pens would not have won their Cups without Ulf Samuelsson, just as the Ducks will not win a Cup this season without Chris Pronger. And in order for captain Sidney Crosby to win the Cup someday, the Pens' blueline will need to feature at least one defenseman who plays shutdown defense with the kind of edge and grit and meanness found in both Ulf Samuelsson and Chris Pronger.

Cheap shot artists? Borderline dirty, at minimum? Absolutely.

Shut down defensemen without whom a team can't hope to capture a Cup? You bet.

Ulfie and Prongs share negative attributes, but those who have lustfully booed realized that they weren't just booing plain old cheap shot artists. They were booing impact players, star players, even, who--even when going way too overboard--more often than not, still manage to be a part of what makes an already-good team a great team.