Young Pronger Idolized Bossy…What Happened?
March 26th, 2008 by murph
It’s nostalgia time over at NHL.com as they speak with some of today’s current stars and ask them who was their favorite NHL player while growing up? The oddest choice has to be 8-time suspended thug Chris Pronger’s choice of 3-time Lady Byng winner and all around classy guy, Mike Bossy.
“I loved watching Mike Bossy,” Pronger says. “He was my favorite player when I was growing up. I just loved watching him go down the wing and take that slapper – quick release, great shot, always had a knack for being open in the right spots on the ice. You are able to learn a lot from watching players like that. Becoming a defenseman, you are able to learn a lot from watching that in learning where not to let people stand.”
So if Bossy taught him where not to let people stand, who taught him how to swing his stick at people’s heads, stomp/kick other players, and throw vicious elbows to the head? Pronger needs to go back and watch some more Bossy videos.
While we’re on the subject of “The Boss”, here’s a good link I found on the Legends of Hockey Network.
Bossy was and remains outspoken about violence in hockey. As one of the most gifted and talented players ever to grace the game, he was often the target of thugs. However Bossy took great pride in never stooping to retaliation. The three time Lady Byng Trophy winner who accumulated only 210 PIM in his career, Bossy was often criticized for not fighting back. Critics passed him off as not tough enough. Bossy’s sweet revenge would however often come in the following 2 minutes after the cowardly attacks. Bossy - perhaps the greatest power play weapon in the game’s history - would score on the man advantage, and that would only upset the other team even more. Of Bossy’s 573 career goals, 181 were scored on the power play.
A chronic bad back forced Bossy to retire prematurely. Oddly enough, the back injuries that still haunt him to this day were caused by the constant abuse he had to take on the ice. In his final season he tallied 38 goals, the only season in which he did not record at least 50 goals. Bossy termed the “failure” to score 50 goals as his biggest disappointment. In actuality he probably shouldn’t have played that year either, as his back was just that bad. Bossy’s love of the game outweighed doctors advice. But by doing so Bossy forever silenced his critics. He played through immense pain and showed the hockey world just how tough he really was.
It is an absolute shame Mike Bossy had to call it quits so soon. He is perhaps the greatest goal scorer the game has ever seen. But he also took great pride in working on his all around game, and became a very dependable defensive player and underrated playmaker
Pronger has 126 PIM this season and averages about 100 PIM/year.
