Should we thank Chris Pronger or ask him to try harder? The Anaheim Ducks defenseman earned third place on Forbes' list of the most-suspended athletes in major U.S. team sports over the last dozen years. (Hey, good news: We're still a major team sport in the U.S. Pop the bubbly!)
(Former) Capt. Elbows' six suspensions, from leg-stomping to throat-sticking, ranked him right behind NBA boy scouts Ron Artest (12 suspensions of STATS, INC.'s count) and Kenyon Martin (nine). Andre Roy of the Calgary Flames was right behind Pronger with six suspensions, including when he threatened death on the entire Flyers bench. Donald Brashear of the Washington Capitals has been on his best behavior for the last few years, but still has six suspensions since 1996. He ranked right above Gary Sheffield, baseball's only representative on the list.
At No. 9 for the NHL? Scott Nichol of the Nashville Predators. Five suspensions; and that might be surprising until you recall the Spacek sucker-punch and the Patrice Brisebois cross-check.
Check out the Forbes gallery of the Top 10 suspended athletes. As you can see, the NBA has a 5-4 lead over the NHL. Thank you, Pacers/Pistons brawl of 2004. And thank you, KHL, for taking Chris Simon before this article was published.
