Team moves on with Pronger

LONDON -- Defenseman Chris Pronger, a Norris Trophy finalist and perpetrator of two nasty hits that earned him two league-imposed suspensions in the playoffs last spring, was appointed the Ducks’ captain.

He will become the seventh Ducks player to wear the “C,” an honor valued more highly in hockey than other sports. Coach Randy Carlyle said Friday that Pronger would retain the captaincy if Scott Niedermayer, who held the position on last season’s Stanley Cup championship team, returned from his apparent retirement.

Carlyle said the Ducks, though reliant on many players for leadership, needed to designate a permanent captain to be a leader in team decisions. He said Niedermayer had been told he would not regain the captaincy if he returned.

“It’s not that we forgot Scott Niedermayer is still out there. It’s just the hand that we’ve been dealt here in allowing him the time he needs,” Carlyle said.

“Our lives go on. So does his. But it’s going on in a different manner.”

The alternates, also appointed by the coaches, will be Chris Kunitz and Rob Niedermayer. The alternate to the alternates will be Todd Marchant.

Pronger was the captain of the St. Louis Blues from 1997 to 2003 and was one of the Ducks’ alternates last season. He said the adversity of losing in the 2006 Cup finals with Edmonton and the success he enjoyed with the Ducks last season have made him more prepared for the captaincy than when he was 23 and the Blues’ hope for the future.

However, he said the appointment won’t soften his rugged game.

“I don’t think I can change. You are who you are and certainly I have to play the way I play to be effective and help this team win,” he said.

Carlyle said the Ducks don’t want Pronger to alter his style.

“Do we want him to be suspended? No, we don’t want him to be suspended,” Carlyle said. “We don’t expect Chris Pronger to be anything but himself, and that’s when he’s at his best.

“He’ll lead our defense, there’s no secret about it.”

Not only has Scott Niedermayer lost the captaincy, he has lost his spot in the carpool with his brother, Rob, Pronger, and goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere. “This is our team,” Rob Niedermayer said. “We’ve got more room this year.”

Pronger said he doesn’t expect jet lag to be a factor in the two games in London. “We’ve been here long enough that we’ve been able to adjust. We’re four days in before first game,” he said. “Going the other way -- when we play in Detroit on Wednesday -- we’ll probably feel it.”

Carlyle gave the Ducks a day off Thursday. Some played golf, but center Andy McDonald, a first-time visitor to London, said he did some sightseeing. On his itinerary was the London Dungeon -- a gory recreation of historical events -- as well as more sedate sights such as the Tower of London, Big Ben and a play.

“I think I’ve walked more than I’ve ever walked before. I don’t think my body is used to all that walking,” he said. “The experience in just riding the Tube, that’s an experience in itself.”

Giguere, not yet fully recovered from hernia surgery, will not play today. Center Samuel Pahlsson, also recovering from hernia surgery, skated Friday but is unlikely to play. That would end his consecutive games-played streak at 275. He last missed a game on Feb. 5, 2003. . . . The Kings will be the home team today and the Ducks will be the home team on Sunday. . . . The Ducks are 4-9-0 in season-opening games. . . . The rink will have NHL dimensions, 200 feet long by 85 feet wide, rather than the international 200 by 100.

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helene.elliott@latimes.com