Pronger ignores the digs

EDMONTON, CANADA â€”  Chris Pronger heard the jeers that rang out when he stepped onto the freshly groomed ice at Rexall Place on Tuesday night. He heard the boos that resounded each time he hopped off the Ducks’ bench and onto the ice, as well as the borderline-obscene chants that materialized when the action lagged.

Oilers fans had taken his request to be traded out of Edmonton last spring as a rejection of their city and their affection, and 16,839 of them razzed him with one voice Tuesday. Many also vented their anger with hand-lettered signs that impugned his integrity, his morals and even his haircut.

Pronger didn’t blink, playing 26 minutes and six seconds of exemplary defense in the Ducks’ 3-2 overtime victory.

“Just another day at the office for Chris Pronger, you know?” Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said.

It is, if you’re booed every time you touch the copier or answer the phone or send an e-mail.

Having experienced fans’ support during the Oilers’ run to the Stanley Cup finals, Pronger knew the depth of their emotions and knew he’d be targeted for scorn Tuesday.

Or worse.

He wasn’t blind to it, though he may have been selective in his vision. Asked during a postgame news conference which sign he had liked best, he didn’t hesitate.

“There was a really nice one in the corner that said, �Thank You, Chris,’ ” he said. “That was the only one I saw.”

For the record, there was also a sign that said, “Chris, 1985 called -- they want their hairstyle back,” a dig at his long, unruly hair.

Referring to his refusal to elaborate on the reasons he asked to be traded less than a year after the Oilers had given him a five-year contract extension, one fan went to the glass during the warmups and held up a sign that read, “The gap in your story is bigger than the gap between your teeth.”

Another carried a sign that read, “Down with Pronger for undisclosed personal reasons,” perhaps the most clever of all.

Chants ranged from “You sold out,” to derisive chants of “Prong-errr,” drawing out his name in sing-song fashion. Others were nastier, but none seemed to faze him.

“You don’t get to his level as a player without being able to shrug that stuff off,” teammate Todd Marchant said.

On the whole, though, the crowd was tame, and the chants seemed to lose steam as the game wore on and the Ducks took control. One fan who had stripped to his briefs was escorted out of the arena’s lower bowl by security guards late in the third period, but it was unclear if his act was fueled by hate for Pronger or too many adult beverages.

Rumors that fans would toss pacifiers and condoms onto the ice didn’t prove true. One lone Oilers jersey with Pronger’s name on the back was thrown near the boards seconds before the game began, but that was the most egregious offense. Not to mention a waste of whatever that fan had paid for the jersey, and it couldn’t have been cheap.

“It’s hard for people to boo all night,” Carlyle said. “These are hockey fans. They’re knowledgeable hockey fans and I’m sure they didn’t want to see a few people ruin the evening because it was an exciting atmosphere that’s only created in playoffs and special games, and it would have ruined it if they’d littered the ice.”

The reception “wasn’t too bad,” said Pronger, whose pass to Teemu Selanne set up the Ducks’ first goal, at 12:03 of the first period.

“Obviously, you’ve got to expect the worst. It was respectful, I think.”

For the Ducks, it was the best of all possible outcomes.

Unlike the Oilers, who lost Ales Hemsky to a shoulder injury and had to play with a depleted lineup, the Ducks emerged healthy and unscathed. They got a win they’d wanted, for their confidence and as a reward for Pronger.

“We knew it would be tough for him coming in here,” Scott Niedermayer said. “Give fans a lot of credit. They were maybe respectful in the way they disagreed with his decision, which I think is very good. We knew it would be a tough game for him and we wanted to go out there and play hard for him.”

Pronger said he felt no great relief that the game he had long anticipated was finally over.

“It’s always nice when you come back and play a team you used to play for,” he said. “It’s one of those games that everybody marks on their calendar.... Everybody was looking forward to this game, certainly. Coming into this building I knew it was going to be a hostile atmosphere. You’ve got to look at it as a playoff situation and you’ve got to use it as incentive to play well.”

Playing well -- and winning -- being, perhaps, the best revenge.

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