Friday, May 28, 2010
Associated Press
CHICAGO
Chris Pronger was just what the Philadelphia Flyers needed. Fearless and strong on the defensive end, he was a game-changer the Flyers hoped would make them a championship contender. They gave up two-first round picks in a trade to get him.
The Chicago Blackhawks liked Marian Hossa when they went free agent shopping in the offseason. A strong skater and scoring threat who could also play defense, they landed him with a big 12-year contract, figuring he would be a veteran influence on a young team with title hopes.
Some players spend their entire career chasing the Cup without ever having the chance to hoist it.
Pronger and Hossa have found their way back to the finals again — Pronger for the third time in five years with his third different team. He was on a winner with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 after losing as a member of the Edmonton Oilers the previous year.
“All you hear about is guys talking about it’s the toughest trophy in pro sports to win. There’s no question it is,” Pronger said Thursday after the Flyers arrived in Chicago dressed in matching orange hooded sweat shirts.
“The mental battles you face — being down in a series, momentum shifts, that stuff or the physical toll it takes on your body to play this many playoff games at this high a level at this style of play is very taxing,” he added.
“You have to be prepared for it to understand what it’s going to take. The abuse you’re going to put on your body to play 20, 27, 28 games, if you play four seven-game series.”
Hossa’s trek is even more rare. He’ll be playing in his third straight championship round with a different team. He’s lost his last two, first with the Penguins in 2008 and then last year as a member of the Red Wings when they fell to Pittsburgh and Sidney Crosby.
“Definitely want to touch the trophy,” Hossa said. “What you learn is that this is a great opportunity. Somebody will say you know it comes once in a lifetime and it comes three times for me. It didn’t work out two times and hopefully the third time will be the one. Just keep hoping and do the best you can.”
Hossa, whose contract is worth $62.8 million, has managed only two goals in 16 playoffs games so far this year, but Chicago is 12-4 in the postseason and is in the finals for the first time since 1992.
A year ago, Hossa scored 40 goals for Detroit in the regular season but managed only six in 23 playoff games when he was fighting a shoulder injury that required surgery after he signed with Chicago.