When Hall of Famer Chris Pronger retired in 2012, he handed the Philadelphia Flyers’ captaincy to Claude Giroux, who wore the “C” for ten seasons. But during their time together in Philadelphia, Giroux learned one big lesson from Pronger—one that came after he dared to curse back at him.
Today, Claude Giroux is a veteran player on the Ottawa Senators, trying to help the team become a contender. But for 14 seasons, Giroux was a cornerstone of the Philadelphia Flyers, serving as captain for 10 of those years.
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Chris Pronger handed over the captaincy
He inherited the captaincy from Hall of Famer Chris Pronger, who played his final three seasons with the Flyers before calling it quits after 18 years in the NHL. Pronger’s career included one Stanley Cup, one Norris Trophy, and one Hart Trophy. In other words, it’s safe to say that a young Claude Giroux had a thing or two to learn from Pronger when he entered the league in 2008.
Claude Giroux cursed back
Speaking on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, Giroux recalled one time he got into an argument with Pronger—and cursed back at him.
“It was my second year, we’re up 4–2. I get a blue-line turnover, and I go back, they get a shot, and they don’t score. I’m in front of the net, and he just looks at me and goes, ‘G, what the f*ck is that? No more f*cking turnovers.’ The whole building was quiet, so everybody could hear it. I was embarrassed. I was pissed. So after the game, I go up to him, and I was so furious. I went up to him and said, ‘Don’t ever f*cking yell at me. You want to yell at me behind closed doors, yell at me—I can take it. But not in front of everybody,’” Giroux shared on the podcast.
”Sh*tting myself”
Right after that, Giroux admitted he got scared. He had just yelled at a future Hall of Famer.
“I’m walking away and I’m shitting my pants. He’s gonna knock me out. He’s coming behind me, and I’m like, ‘This is not good.’ He comes up and says, ‘You’re right, G. I apologize.’ I was pretty impressed. We just put it behind us. He’s a great leader,” Giroux said.
No one can really disagree with that.
You can watch the clip below.
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