Latest news with #ChrisPronger
National Post
19-05-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Disgusted Leafs fans burn jerseys after Game 7 nightmare loss
Article content One person added: 'This morning stings. Proud of the team one moment, absolutely irate with them the next. Not sure how to feel.' Article content A second fan agreed: 'That stung. End of an era.' End of an era, indeed. Article content What lies ahead for the Leafs is an uncertain offseason as Mitch Marner and John Tavares will become unrestricted free agents on July 1. Article content Two players, along with Matthews and forward William Nylander, make up the expensive Core Four, which our Terry Koshan writes needs to be broken up if the Maple Leafs have any hopes of getting it done in the playoffs. Article content Article content Leafs president Brendan Shanahan — a staunch supporter of the club's Core Four and the man responsible for the direction of the team for the past decade — is also without a contract beyond this season. Article content Former Hart Trophy winner and Stanley Cup champ Chris Pronger wrote in an X post: Article content 'Changes are a coming. This listless effort should put an end to this team's run in its current roster construction,' Pronger noted. Article content Article content 'What and where do they go from here? A lot of questions to answer before they figure that out.' Article content #LeafsForever changes are a coming. This listless effort should put an end to this teams run in its current roster construction. What and where do they go from here? A lot of questions to answer before they figure that out. — Chris Pronger (@chrispronger) May 19, 2025 Article content After the epic loss, Marner spoke about his time playing in Toronto, that he has 'always enjoyed,' and isn't ready to think about his impending free agency. Article content
National Post
15-05-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Leafs fans, former NHL stars tear apart team after ‘embarrassing' Game 5 loss to Panthers
It started during Game 5 on Wednesday night, when Maple Leafs fans showered the team in boos as the contest against Florida Panthers began to get out of hand on the scoreboard. Article content Article content Leafs Nation showed its displeasure with the squad — with a few jerseys even thrown on the ice at Scotiabank Arena and many fans leaving long before the game had officially ended. Article content There's been MULTIPLE Leafs jerseys thrown on the ice in this 3rd period 😶 — Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) May 15, 2025 Article content Article content The harsh thoughts towards the team didn't stop there, with social media exploding with criticisms of the Leafs. Article content During an intermission on ESPN's broadcast of the Oilers-Golden Knights game later on Wednesday night, the panel of former NHL stars tore into the Toronto stars. Article content 'The lack of emotion I see, I would be pissed off,' said Chris Pronger, a former Hart Trophy winner and Stanley Cup champ. 'I would be sitting there dejected, at a loss for words as to how we just laid an egg in … potential their careers. Article content 'Toronto did not come to play,' he added. Article content The ESPN NHL crew on the Maple Leafs... Chris Pronger: "The lack of emotion I see... I would be pissed off." Mark Messier: "This what was the worst performance we've seen in a long time..." P.K. Subban: "Embarrassing... If they lose this series, there has to be a change..." — Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 15, 2025 Article content Article content 'This was the worst performance we've seen in a long time in a game that had so many implications,' said Mark Messier, one of the greatest leaders the sport has ever seen. 'They have to come back and show some character in Game 6 because that was not a good performance.' Article content Article content P.K. Subban called the Leafs 'the definition of mediocrity,' while also calling out team president Brendan Shanahan for the squad's repeated playoff failures. Article content 'Brendan Shanahan has to be asking himself 'what do I have to do?' but also has to look at himself in the mirror,' he said. 'He went out and acquired all these players, coaches and GMs, it hasn't worked out. Article content 'This was the biggest game for them in the past two decades. A 6-1 loss in front of your fans is embarrassing,' Subban continued, adding that 'if they lose this series, there has to be a change, there has to be a change in leadership … it's unacceptable.'
New York Times
17-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
LeBrun: A Canada-USA 4 Nations rematch had to happen — now here's what is at stake
It is the dream rematch the 4 Nations Face-Off needed. 'This is great for the game, no matter what country you are from,' Team USA general manager Bill Guerin told The Athletic on Monday after the championship matchup against Canada was set. 'This has the makings for another incredible game.' And we're going to go out on a limb here and suggest we won't see a Hanson Brothers redo at the start of the game Thursday night, at what should be a rocking TD Garden in Boston. Advertisement No, expect a tight-checking affair in which open ice will be hard to come by. Both teams won't want to play too risky. Too much is on the line to open it up, too much riding to lack discipline. What's at stake? Team USA has a chance to finish the job this time, unlike at the Vancouver Olympics 15 years ago, when the Americans beat Canada in round-robin play but lost the game that mattered — for gold. Former Team Canada mainstay Chris Pronger had a interesting comment last week when I asked him which of his Olympic gold-medal wins meant the most. 'Probably 2010, because they beat us in the round-robin and there was a lot of maybe swelled heads on their side, thinking that they were going to run roughshod over us as we found our solid footing and figured out how we needed to play and come together as a unit,'' said the Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman, also an Olympic champion in 2002 at Salt Lake City. 'I thought, for the most part we dominated that gold-medal game and had the better of the chances.' There was a lot of exuberance among Team USA players Saturday night when they talked to reporters after beating Canada. There was a real sense of achievement in ending Canada's 17-game win streak at best-on-best hockey, which dated 15 years. That is understandable. You can't blame this generation of USA stars for feeling like what happened Saturday night was significant. Matthew Tkachuk called it the biggest moment in his career next to last June's Game 7 win in the Stanley Cup Final. All good. But the American players need to park it now. If Team USA doesn't win Thursday night in front of a home crowd, the only thing we'll remember of that Feb. 15 round-robin matchup years from now will be the three fights in nine seconds. Because the final word will be, yeah, but Canada came back to win the big one again. That's what is truly at stake on Thursday night. Advertisement Canada captain Sidney Crosby has a chance to continue his remarkable era of dominance with a fourth best-on-best title (2010 Olympics, 2014 Olympics, 2016 World Cup of Hockey, 4 Nations), not to mention the fact that No. 87 will add to his already-legendary reputation by having played this event with one good arm. Just as important, a win for Canada would go a long way calming a religiously intense hockey country whose national pride has been dented with back-to-back quarterfinal losses in the World Junior Championship. Not to mention current world events and political tensions between the U.S. and Canada. A win Thursday night would be mighty sweet for many Canadians on a number of levels. On the flip side, after winning back-to-back World Juniors titles for the first time in its history, USA Hockey can make quite a statement Thursday night with a win and announce themselves as kings of the hockey hill 12 months before the Olympics in Italy. The Miracle on Ice in 1980 is unmatched as a moment, and the 1996 World Cup of Hockey upset win was a landmark accomplishment, and both of those events obviously will remain bigger than whatever happens this week. But a win Thursday night to claim the best-on-best 4 Nations, given the Americans' recent world junior-hockey dominance, arguably would feel like the first time in the history of hockey that the United States was truly No. 1 in the sport. No question, the Olympic tournament will be more important in that narrative, but until then, Team USA would carry some well-deserved swagger as the best in the world. The other winners, regardless of Thursday night's result, are the NHL and the sport itself. There are a lot of people who mocked the 4 Nations when it was announced. As colleague Chris Johnston wrote on Sunday, the event is already a home run, which probably has a lot to do with finally having best-on-best for the first time in eight and a half years. But it's also because of the players' buy-in. Advertisement Never mind that many hockey fans have craved best on best — the current generation of NHL stars were begging for it. 'It's one of those things that's kind of escaped me throughout my career,' Team USA star goalie Connor Hellebuyck said last week. 'I had a couple of world championships, but the NHL didn't go to the last Olympics so we missed that opportunity. And then you never know; are you going to get another shot? You've got to stay in your prime for when that opportunity comes. 'Being able to put that jersey on now, it's one of those things that almost felt like it would never happen. Now that it has, it's pretty surreal.' He speaks for every single player in the 4 Nations. They wanted this so bad. Now a championship game awaits. Two intense rivals giving us one more best-on-best title fight. Cannot wait. (Photo of Canada's Jordan Binnington and Sidney Crosby: Chase Agnello-Dean / 4NFO / World Cup of Hockey via Getty Images)
