The Lindros Retirement

A lot of things go through your mind when you read that Eric Lindros is now retired.

Over the years, very few individuals come around that get the kind of hype that Eric Lindros enjoyed before he even played in the NHL. We saw some of that with Sidney Crosby a few years ago, but even that seemed stunted by the NHL lockout talk. I also believed that the hype machine was moving in a slower motion so that Crosby didn't come into the league with the built-in reputation as The Next One, as Lindros had.

A lot of that hype was of his own doing. Let's face it: when you turn down a chance to play junior for a team owned by Phil Esposito (the Soo Greyhounds) and your family turns the system on it's ear to get Eric on a team closer to home (the Oshawa Generals), then you're going to make headlines. By bucking the system, Lindros put a big bull's-eye across that back of his; even as he was becoming the best prospect in junior hockey and the consensus favorite to be the first pick in the 1991 NHL entry draft.

Then we have Quebec. Even before the lowly Nordiques picked him first overall in that draft, Lindros and his handlers informed the team that he had no intention of suiting up for the team. He even caused scandal by refusing to don the Nordiques sweater after being chosen. Suddenly, the league was up in arms over the stand this kid was taking. No player can put himself before the team--let alone a kid who had yet to prove he could tie his own skates in the NHL. And who was he not to recognize the fact that it was a privilege to play in the NHL, not a birthright?

By holding out and forcing a trade to the Flyers, Lindros even affected the balance of power in the NHL. Philadelphia sent a package of players that included Peter Forsberg, Chris Simon, Mike Ricci, Ron Hextall, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman and a No. 1 pick that the Nords turned into goaltender Jocelyn Thibault. After moving to Colorado, they later traded Thibault to Montreal for some guy named Patrick Roy. You know the rest.

Let's not look past the fact that for the mid-1990s that Eric Lindros, while a polarizing figure, was also one hell of a hockey player. He may have changed life forever in Quebec, but he helped turn the fortunes of the Flyers around as well. The team became better on the ice and at the box office and they even got a new rink built in the city because of his star power. Lindros was one scary dude when he came bearing down on any defense tandem in the league. He was the guy who broke the (Cam Neely-type) mold for what a power forward could look like in the NHL. He won the league MVP, scored 115 points in 1995-96, and lead the Flyers to the finals in 1997. The Flyers and the Legion of Doom (Lindros, Leclair, Renberg) were picked off in the Stanley Cups Finals by the Detroit Red Wings that year but no one thought that was going to be the end of the Flyers. It truly did appear as if a new day was dawning in the NHL and that The Next one, Eric Lindros, would be leading that charge.

What happened next? Well, how about a bunch of injuries and concussions. Arguments over the care he was receiving by the Flyers medical team. The near-death episode where his roommate Keith Jones made him go to the hospital when the Flyers wanted him to board a plane. Meddling parents and cantankerous Flyers executives named Bobby Clarke and Ed Snider. The loss of goodwill and trust. Running into Scott Stevens while skating with his head down. A year-long holdout. A forced trade to his hometown Maple Leafs. Fights at bars called Koo Koo Bananas. Other rumors involving side kicks from Elvis Stojko. Plain weird stuff.

With retirement, the Hall of Fame debate begins. Not sure where I side on this one. I was certainly on the side of those who didn't like Lindros when he was a player. Truth is that the guy was big, strong, mean, and he ran roughshod over Islanders forced to wear Stan Fischler on the front of their jerseys back in the day. Lindros also compelled people to into rinks all across the league to see him play; much as they do to see Sidney Crosby play now. He was an intimidating force of nature on the ice and as controversial a person off the ice as there could be in the buttoned-up NHL world.

No matter which side of the line you're on regarding Eric Lindros, one thing is true. The Eric Lindros story is one of unfulfilled potential. A heck of a career, but one that is lacking in many, many ways. Lindros was able to do a lot, but in the end, he'll be remembered more for what he didn't do than for what he actually did.