The NHL.com network is a fantastic place to get a wealth of information including news, stats, standings, and much more. The network itself is a collection of web sites that includes more than just the main site linked to thirty team locations, each using their own different color scheme to match their team colors. It also is a collection of links to affiliated sites, such as minor league hockey clubs, sponsor web sites, online stores, and, interestingly enough, a handful of “player sites”. Not the least of which belongs to the newly acquired Philadelphia Flyers defenseman, Chris Pronger, simply located at ChrisPronger.com.

While there is some specific information, such as a bio, stats and blog, the site itself is virtually an extension of NHL.com, with the same stories advertisements, news and links. There are also many places you can click if you want spend some money on Chris Pronger merchandise, including autographed sticks and jerseys from any of the various teams he has played for. The main page also features blog entries and comments with the latest coming from Aug. 28, 2008. It is not much more than an NHL-sponsored Myspace page; an interactive cash grab for one of hockey’s premier blue-liners.

Pronger certainly deserves recognition for what he’s accomplished in the NHL, including five All-Star Game appearances, winning both the James Norris Memorial Trophy and the Hart Trophy in 2000, and ultimately winning the Stanely Cup with Anaheim in 2007, but to have an officially recognized web site dedicated to him and advertised on NHL.com is perhaps one step too far. What differentiates the site from the hundreds of fan-created web sites across the web? What determines a player’s worth for having a site like Pronger’s? Why is there no WayneGretzky.com or MarioLemieux.com hosted at the bottom of the NHL’s online home?

Content, links and advertising are driving forces in the valuation of a web site, and NHL.com is doing it well. Obnoxiously well. Where the NHL goes wrong is with the up-keep of their affiliated sites. ChrisPronger.com’s lack of relevant content and fresh material is saddening. To have anything dated back over a year is far beyond lazy. It wouldn’t be difficult for a member of the development team to track down the live Pronger for a word or two every couple of weeks. From a business standpoint, ChrisPronger.com’s main goal should be to match the level of success that its namesake has. But don’t hold your breath.