Pronger named captain of Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers on Friday named defenseman Chris Pronger as the 18th captain in franchise history.

Center Danny Briere and defenseman Kimmo Timonen will serve as alternate captains. The team made the announcement via Twitter.

Pronger, who turns 37 on Oct. 10, replaces Mike Richards, who was traded to Los Angeles during the summer after serving as captain since 2008. Pronger also served as the captain of the St. Louis Blues from 1997-2003 and was captain of the Anaheim Ducks during the 2007-08 season.

The Flyers acquired Pronger from the Ducks on June 27, 2009. He was limited to 50 games last season by a succession of injuries. He underwent offseason back surgery and is not expected to be ready for the start of training camp Saturday, though general manager Paul Holmgren expects him to be ready when the regular season begins Oct. 6 in Boston.

"I'll still say he'll be ready at the start of the regular season," he told NHL.com's Adam Kimelman earlier this week. "Whether he plays a training camp game or not is not an issue for me. He's certainly played enough of those in his 18-year career. He knows how to play the game. He also knows how to prepare and play for a regular 82-game season and playoffs."

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