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Will Chris Pronger or Daniel Briere end up being captain of the Flyers?

Edmonton Oilers v Philadelphia Flyers

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 08: Chris Pronger #20 of the Philadelphia Flyers stretches during warmups before an NHL hockey game against the Edmonton Oilers at the Wells Fargo Center on March 8, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)

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When the Flyers traded away Mike Richards to the Los Angeles Kings, it not only shook up the Flyers locker room, it changed the leadership dynamic in Philadelphia. With Richards out, the Flyers are in need of a new team captain and a guy able to handle the stresses of playing in hockey-mad Philly, dealing with media and fans that are demanding, and capable of dueling with some of the snarkier reporters.

Mike Richards had his troubles in handling at least one part of that equation and now the duties of being the face of the Flyers will fall to someone else. But who? Looking at the roster that’s a mix of young and old, a pair of names stand out immediately: Daniel Briere and Chris Pronger.

Briere was a co-captain during his time in Buffalo with the Sabres while Pronger has been a captain with the Anaheim Ducks. With those two having the history of being a captain and strong, established careers you wonder if it will be either of those two chosen to wear the “C” in Philly.

CSNPhilly.com’s Tim Panaccio asked Briere his thoughts about what he feels about the vacant captaincy and Pronger’s presence in the room. Given what Briere says, Pronger might already have the lead on being the next captain of the Flyers.

“It would be an honor,” said Briere of a potential captaincy. “Is it something that matters? No. That I have a letter or not, I won’t change the way I play or act in the dressing room. If I have something to say, I don’t need a letter to stand up and say to guys, ‘this is the way I see it.

“When you look around the room and the old captains and the name on that board, it would be a tremendous honor, but it’s not something I need. I think Chris Pronger felt the same way. Everyone saw Chris as one of our leaders last year.”

Was Pronger the de facto captain?

“Yeah, definitely,” Briere replied. “Richie wore the letter and was the captain but he wasn’t by himself.”


While Briere is a leader himself and is more than capable of handling questions about the team and dealing with the media, you get the feeling that Pronger embodies the vision people have as a captain. Pronger is a hulking menace on the ice that leads the team by example through physical play and sticks up for his teammates all over the ice. Pronger’s ability to intimidate opponents often ends a potentially ugly situation before it develops. We can only imagine the sort of direction Pronger provides in the locker room when it comes to getting the team’s head screwed on straight.

As for Briere, you don’t always see him as being the leader-type, but yet he’s the guy leading the way offensively and doing a lot of the same things Pronger puts a stop to by agitating opponents and not letting his smaller stature be a factor in how he plays the game. Briere’s a feisty guy that keeps at it regardless of the size of the opponent.

These are two worthy candidates and two guys that can handle the added workload. While it’s a big deal for fans to know who “their guy” is when it comes to captaincy, Briere notes that it’s a bigger deal for fans and media to have someone to point to as the guys in the locker room will rally together and help out.

If you’re looking for a guy that best represents what the Flyers have been about historically then Pronger is the guy. If you’re in need of a guy to show the ropes to the new group of younger players in Philly, then Briere might be better suited. All of that said, you can’t help but think that Pronger is going to be the man. It seems too natural of a thing to end up happening and with Pronger having many years left to go in Philly on his contract, it makes even more sense to have him be the face of the franchise.