The Flyers will announce later tonight that they have named Chris Pronger the 18th captain in team history.

In what amounts as a shock to no one, Pronger replaces the traded Mike Richards as the team's leader on the ice.

Pronger, 36, who has served as a captain in previous stints with St. Louis and Anaheim, was the locker room leader the past two seasons for the Flyers despite wearing an "A" as alternate captain.

“With Chris’s experience and presence, we felt that he was the perfect player to take over as captain of the Philadelphia Flyers,” general manager Paul Holmgren said.

Kimmo Timonen remains an alternate captain while Danny Briere takes over the other "A" from the traded Jeff Carter.

Both Timonen (Nashville) and Briere (Buffalo) have been captains before.

“Having Kimmo and Danny, both former captains in the NHL, serving as alternates, really gives us a strong, dedicated leadership group," added Holmgren. “All three of these players know what it takes to win and are excellent role models both on and off the ice.”

The veteran trio serving as team leaders is a switch from the team's M.O. in previous seasons when they relied on players under the age of 30 to lead the team.

Rob Parent will have more on this story tonight as I am at the Garnet Valley-Upper Darby football game, but I'll be back in the Flyers saddle (finally) tomorrow with reports from the first official day of training camp.