Pronger headed for IR, targets Winter Classic

The next time the Flyers see their captain, it will most likely be inside a baseball stadium.

Chris Pronger underwent surgery on his left knee yesterday, shelving the defenseman for at least four weeks. That would put Pronger’s return right before the Winter Classic on Jan. 2 at Citizens Bank Park. The 37-year-old has also missed the team’s last four games due to a virus.

“This has been an issue for the last month or so for him that’s been nagging,” GM Paul Holmgren said. “Some of the loose bodies in there are becoming a little bit of an issue, and we felt it was better to get it taken care of now.”

Holmgren said he expects to move Pronger to long-term injured reserve, which would clear cap space if the Flyers wanted to make a roster move. This will be Pronger’s sixth surgery since July 2010, but the team doesn’t seem worried over his future.

“The structure of his knee is just fine,” Holmgren said. “I think he has a lot of miles left in his body.”