Stan Fischler posted an article for NHL.com which discusses the career of former Red Wings great Marcel Pronovost. The venerable defenseman split his career between Detroit and Toronto, and, as Fischler suggests, Pronovost was “fearless”:
Who is the most courageous player in NHL history to be a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame?
One way to answer the question is to take a Hall of Famer and compare the number of times he survived serious injuries and still managed to play at a high level for Cup-winning teams.
Perhaps the NHL’s best combination of skill and courage was Marcel Pronovost, a defenseman who excelled for the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs in a career that ran from 1950 to 1970. That’s two decades worth of injuries, comebacks — and five Stanley Cups, four with Detroit and the last, in 1967, with Toronto.
“Marcel’s courage could match anyone’s in the League,” said Jack Adams, himself a Hall of Famer. It was Adams, as Detroit’s general manager, who signed Pronovost to a contract with the Red Wings.
“Marsh’s problem was the fact that he was overshadowed by our more flashy players like Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and Red Kelly.”
