Flyers’ Chris Pronger appointed to Department of Player Safety

Former Flyers Defenseman Chris Pronger has been appointed to the NHL Department of Player Safety

The NHL announced Friday night, despite objections throughout the league, that former Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger has been appointed to the league’s Department of Player Safety.

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The appointment caused many to raise objections when it was first being considered earlier in the week due to the potential conflict of interest that could arise from the appointment. Despite the fact that Pronger hasn’t played since 2011 due to post-concussion syndrome, he is still signed to a long-term contract with the Flyers through the end of the 2016-2017 season. League rules do not permit for players to be bought out of contracts or traded away due to long-term injuries, as teams receive cap relief once players have been placed on LTIR for the season.

The only potential solution would be for Pronger to retire early, but the current CBA dictates that his retirement would cause the team to retain his nearly $5 million cap hit every season until the contract would have expired. The Flyers, who are already under a significant amount of cap strain, most likely do not even see this as an option.

When asked about the potential conflict of interest, league commissioner Gary Bettman reportedly saw no issue with the appointment. He stated that Chris Pronger would simply be unable to weigh in on any decisions made about the Flyers, similar to Patrick Burke’s exclusion from decisions involving his father’s team, the Calgary Flames.

Questions have been raised as to whether Pronger would find issue making decisions regarding his former team’s rivals, but this seems like it might be stretching the conflict of interest issue a little thin.

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