Chris Pronger calls out soft hockey fans who railed against Trouba

In case you missed it this past weekend, New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba made quite a stir when he lined up Chicago Blackhawks forward Andreas Athanasiou and absolutely DRILLED him into next century.

Here's the hit in question:

That hit caused quite a stir, especially after Athanasiou personally called out Trouba for what he deemed a dirty hit.

“That guy is known for hitting high," Athanasiou according to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. "Not really worrying about the puck out there and almost trying to hurt people. That’s his game; that’s what he does.

"He’s an $8-million man with zero goals, so he has to figure out how to do something when making that much. If you can’t help the team, I guess you try to hurt guys on the other team.”

To me, it's not a dirty hit... but I'm a bit of an old school hockey traditionalist.

You know who else didn't have a problem with the hit also though? Hall of Famer Chris Pronger. Ever heard of him? One of the toughest, most skilled blueliners to ever patrol an NHL blueline absolutely loved the hit and he has a message for anyone who thinks that that hit doesn't have a place in the modern game.

Check it out:

"Maybe he should get his head up instead on whining to reporters!" 

Couldn't have said it better myself.