This TSN bit on Philadelphia Flyers defenseman is pretty polished, with a lot of different voices chiming in, some of his greatest soundbytes and first-person insight from being on the receiving end of his act from Kris Versteeg and Scott Hartnell.
What the piece points to is that Pronger is the quintessential "player you hate until he's on your team." (See Also: Lemieux, Claude.)
I remember speaking to some folks in the NHL at the 2009 NHL Draft, after Flyers GM Paul Holmgren pulled the trigger on the trade with the Anaheim Ducks, and to a man they said no matter what his reputation is, the players in the room respect him because he does that physical, nasty, dirty work that others don't.
If there's one aspect the story glossed over, probably because it didn't fit the narrative, it's that Pronger hasn't had a suspension since the Ryan Kesler stomp. That for all the intimidation and illegality of this past, he actually may have located the line he can't cross as a player. Which is surreal in our suspension culture and his being Chris Pronger.