Philadelphia Flyers: 5 Players Who Need To Step Up in Chris Pronger's Absence

Last week, Flyers’ captain Chris Pronger had knee surgery and the procedure is expected to keep him sidelined for at least one month.

With the Flyers in the midst of a three-way struggle for control of the Atlantic Division, games in December and January are as crucial to playoff position as games in March and April.  The Flyers need to continue to win despite the absence of their biggest defenseman. 

Pronger fills a unique role as a leader, defender and special teams threat, and the Flyers will need all those roles filled by players already on the roster.

These five players must step up their game in the absence of Chris Pronger.

Matt Carle

What is his role?

Log the big minutes.

When Pronger is healthy, the Flyers are used to having him and Kimmo Timonen on the ice frequently, whether on the power play, penalty kill or at even strength. 

With Pronger out (as well as Andreas Lilja and Erik Gustafsson), the Flyers find themselves with players who are supposed to be in the AHL making up one-third of the team’s defense. 

While Marc-Andre Bourdon and Kevin Marshall deserve a shot at the NHL level, coach Peter Laviolette will need to keep them on the bench in crucial moments if he wants to continue to win.

Carle’s versatility makes him the best candidate to take up Pronger’s ice time.  He may not have the size and shot that Pronger has, but his skating ability and defensive responsibility make him an important part of a complex puzzle on the back end.

All four major defensemen will bear the brunt of the responsibility, but Carle will need to adjust his style of play more than the others.

Will he step up?

On par with his new responsibility, Carle led the team in even-strength and total ice time during Thursday’s game against Pittsburgh.

He doesn’t necessarily need to be productive, but he needs to play enough to keep players like Timonen and Andrej Meszaros fresh to step up their game as well.

Danny Briere

What is his role?

Veteran mindset. 

On a team as young as the Flyers, seeing a veteran who has invested time and effort in the franchise sends a very powerful message.  Pronger’s leadership was well documented last season, as he apparently took command of the locker room despite not being the team’s captain.

Danny Briere may not have Pronger’s intimidating stature in his repertoire, but he most clearly fits the role of a veteran who has helped build this team the last few seasons. 

With Pronger out, Briere will be responsible for making sure the younger players know what it takes to win.

Will he step up?

Briere usually puts on a clinic come playoff time, but rarely has he had to be the focal point of the franchise this early in the regular season.

Furthermore, Briere is not as vocal as Pronger, and while he is capable of leading by example, it can be hard to light a fire under a team without having that intimidation factor.

It will take a lot of effort on Briere’s part to step into Pronger’s skates in this way.

Zac Rinaldo

What is his role?

Unabashed intimidation.

Chris Pronger is 6’6”, 220 pounds.  Zac Rinaldo is 5’11”, 170 pounds.  By all rights, Rinaldo shouldn’t be able to match Pronger’s intimidating presence.

Yet Rinaldo plays a style of hockey reminiscent of Tie Domi; he has no regard for his own safety, he just wants to hit people.

While Pronger recovers from surgery, Rinaldo will be looked to in order to keep opponents honest.  He’ll have to do it without taking bad penalties (wishful thinking), but the ultimate task for Rinaldo is simply to demonstrate that the Flyers are not a soft team in Pronger’s absence. 

Will he step up?

Rinaldo would like nothing better.

He’ll undoubtedly find himself in the penalty box quite a bit, but Rinaldo is absolutely fearless.  There’s no reason to believe he’ll be quiet for the next month.

James van Riemsdyk

What is his role?

Power-play point man.

Pronger brings a big shot to the Flyers’ PP unit, which forces defenses to play a little higher in the defensive zone. 

This opens up the boards for players like Matt Read and Claude Giroux, and produces deflections and rebounds for Scott Hartnell and Wayne Simmonds in front of the net.

The Flyers cannot afford to lose a dimension of their power play at this point in the season, and JVR seems the most likely fit.  He has a slap shot that can hit triple digits on the radar gun and he has played the point on the man advantage before.

The major concern will be his defensive abilities if opponents manage a shorthanded breakout.

Will he step up?

JVR will find himself on the point, though he may stay on the team’s second unit.  Nonetheless, expect to see the Jersey boy doing more shooting than he has in the past.

His instincts for setting up teammates from the blue line is nowhere near as refined as Pronger’s, but anyone with a 100-mph shot can help manufacture a few garbage goals.

Andrej Meszaros

What is his role?

Big defensive presence. 

Meszaros was one of the top hitters on the Flyers last season, and he’ll need to show the same physicality in the defensive zone while Pronger rehabs his knee. 

While the Flyers have depth of skill on defense in Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn, Meszaros stands out as the one who plays a style of defense very similar to Pronger. 

Meszaros will be responsible for clearing space in front of his goaltender and punishing opposing forwards in the corners.  If he continues to play like a second- or third-pair defenseman, without the intimidation factor, the Flyers will find themselves back on their heels in their own zone.

Will he step up?

Meszaros looked banged up after last week’s game against Phoenix, but as long as he is healthy, he will slide into Pronger’s role very naturally. 

He skates better than Pronger has in recent years, and as long as he pulls back from joining the rush too often, Meszaros will be a major presence on the blue line.