Hockey Hall of Famer Marcel Pronovost dies at age 84

[April 28, 2015]  (Reuters) - Hockey Hall of Famer Marcel Pronovost, a five-time Stanley Cup champion and 11-time All-Star, has died at the age of 84, the National Hockey League said on Monday.

Pronovost, a defenseman who won four Stanley Cup titles in the 1950s with the Detroit Red Wings before winning a fifth with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1967, died on Sunday after a brief illness, the NHL said.

After his 20-year playing career ended following the 1969-70 season, Pronovost coached the Chicago Cougars of the newly founded World Hockey Association and later the NHL's Buffalo Sabres.

"A Hall of Fame defenseman, a respected coach and for five seasons a valued member of the National Hockey League’s Central Scouting Bureau, Marcel Pronovost devoted his life to the pursuit of excellence in our sport," Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.

Pronovost played in 1,206 NHL games and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978.

(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg in Washington; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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