Former Blues say Pronger was one of the very best

RELATED LINK: Pronger Jersey Retirement set for Jan. 17
Without question, Chris Pronger was one of the best defensemen to ever wear the Blue Note.
The 6-foot-6 blueliner first came to St. Louis on July 27, 1995 when then-Head Coach & General Manager Mike Keenan traded a fan favorite - Brendan Shanahan - to the Hartford Whalers to acquire him.

Pronger was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1993 NHL Draft and would spend nine seasons in St. Louis, where he became a fan-favorite himself and blossomed into one of the top defensemen the League had ever seen.
Pronger played in 598 regular-season games with the Blues and tallied 356 points (84 goals, 272 assists) and 931 penalty minutes. He became the second (and most recent) defenseman in NHL history to win the Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP) and Norris Trophy (best defenseman) in the same season, joining the great Bobby Orr.
As a Blue, Pronger was a four-time NHL All-Star, finished in the Top 5 of Norris Trophy voting five times and was named one of the "100 Greatest Players" by the NHL in 2017.
The Blues will retire Pronger's No. 44 during a pregame ceremony on Monday, Jan. 17 against Nashville. The ceremony begins at 6 p.m.
We asked several of Pronger's former teammates what they thought about No. 44 being raised to the rafters alongside some of the other Blues' greats, and here's what they had to say:

Al MacInnis

Prongs was certainly the best defenseman I ever played with, and he's in the conversation for perhaps the best of all time, for sure. He had every component you would want in player: size, skill, great sense, effortless skater, physical, mean… and he hated losing.

Mike Keenan

The trade I made to acquire Chris Pronger for Brendan Shanahan was very controversial at the time but proved to be one of the most important trades in Blues history. Chris absolutely deserves to have his number hanging from the rafters. A Hart and Norris Trophy winner in the same year?! When he was drafted, we all remember who went No. 2 and not who went No. 1.

Marc Bergevin

Prongs never took a night off. Game in and game out, he was there and he competed. He brought everything he had every single night. I love Prongs!

Dallas Drake

I was lucky to play 16 years in the NHL, but I never played with a player that could affect the game in as many different ways as Chris. Defensively, he was the best player on the ice in every game. Offensively, I feel like he was as good as anyone and could have been better if he didn't have to play more than 30 minutes a night. Physically, he made the game absolutely miserable on everyone we played.

Scott Young

What amazed me about Prongs was the way he could control a game, especially in the year he won the Hart Trophy. Somehow, he dictated the pace of play on every shift and never looked rushed. I never remember him scrambling because he was always in the right position and had incredible composure. He made the game look so easy.

Scott Mellanby

Chris Pronger is one of the Top 10 defensemen of all time. He played in three Stanley Cup Finals with three different organizations and the team that is retiring his number wasn't even one of them - how good is that?! With the Blues, Pronger won the Norris, the Hart and the Presidents' Trophy. I was honored to have been able to watch that up close.

Doug Weight

Chris Pronger's ability to the move the puck to the correct player at the correct time, always tape to tape, is something few players have ever been able to do with such consistency. He mastered the skill of an accurate, hard shot while keeping his head up - just amazing accuracy and ability to perfect the shot-pass. He played on the edge - sometimes over it - but made himself hard to play against and always hard on the opponent's best players. And he had an uncanny ability to log huge minutes in all facets of the game - power play, even strength and shorthanded.

Geoff Courtnall

Chris was a great teammate who really developed into a star in St. Louis. I remember our first year there together and he really was a star in the playoffs. He competed hard and pushed himself to be one of the best defensemen in the League. His agility and reach made him a very difficult guy to play against, and he frustrated a lot of players - including me - in practice. Chris will always be remembered for his great years in St. Louis. Retiring a player's jersey is an honour for a player, and Chris Pronger's jersey hanging there will remind Blues fans of just how great he was. He is a great friend. Congratulations, Prongs!

Chris McAlpine

Prongs was one of the most dominant players I ever played with. His ability to control games with his skill - and nastiness when needed - made him an absolute force. He never took a day off, and I really admired his drive to be great. Best of all, he was the ultimate teammate that motivated everyone with his play.