Lindros hangs his skates up the wall.

[Sven 1]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=222456&hubname=

[jestrs 0]

He was the man in the mid-90s. Makes you wonder what he could have done without all the concussions.

[bobovski 1]

He was the man in the mid-90s. Makes you wonder what he could have done without all the concussions.

I remember seeing Kasparitis put a hit on Lindros back in the late 90s giving him yet another concussion. At the time, I was thinking Big Eric had at most a year left in the league. I was wrong, apparently.

[Spreedizzle 1]

He was a lot of fun to watch at MSG in the early/mid 90's against the Rangers. Great rivalry at the time. Loved seeing Beukeboom, Leetch and Zuboz ride him into the boards. Too bad the concussions really came back to bite him and his abilities later in his career.

[RadioGaGa 162]

He was so big and strong at 15, 16, 17 years old that he could skate with his head down and still run through people...he never lost that bad habit and it cost him huge once he got to the NHL.

[TheBert 0]

[Theo 1]

He was so big and strong at 15, 16, 17 years old that he could skate with his head down and still run through people...he never lost that bad habit and it cost him huge once he got to the NHL.

Cherry said the same thing and I don't know...I can't say I watched his early years pre 1999, but didn't he start getting his concussions in 1998. That is quite a stretch from 1992 when he joined the league. I don't doubt that the statement has merit, but I would think his troubles would show up much earlier if it was truly the case

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

It's true.

Lindros never learned how to skate with his head up as he was coming up.

The first concussion got him good, and every concussion after that, doesn't take as much impact to get one.

[Theo 1]

I don't doubt it, but why wasn't he getting knocked out in 93, 94, 95, etc, etc when he was a kid first entering the league and most likely to carry the habit in those years. I've thought about it quite a bit and have no clue why. It took that first one, but he should have gotten it much sooner, one would think.

All players look down at some point in times, Lindros did at the worst opportunities. Doesn't genes play a role as well or is that not proven?

[Theo 1]

Larry Brooks on Eric Lindros

WELL DONE, ERIC

LINDROS: IMPORTANT PLAYER, GREAT MAN

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11112007/sport...eric_161236.htm

November 11, 2007 -- TORONTO - Eric Lin dros should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder; specifically, the builder of the cash-cow arena in Philadelphia that team chairman Ed Snider was able to finance only by using No. 88's marquee power to attract investors following the trade that brought him from the heat in Quebec to the inferno on Broad Street.

Snider and Bob Clarke were immature ingrates during Lindros' tenure with the Flyers that was nothing if not great theatre. From the time he skated into the NHL on essentially his own terms - A player dictating? Why, we thought only owners were allowed to do that - until he was traded to the Rangers in 2001, Lindros was the most compelling athlete and story in the league.

What was then-Rangers coach Colin Campbell's memorable comment about No. 88 after he'd run typically roughshod over the Blueshirts during the height of his powers? Or maybe it was GM Neil Smith (it's difficult now to distinguish between the massacres that took place in those days) who said, "Lindros commits a major penalty on every shift."

The poet John Greenleaf Whittier once wrote, "For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been.' " Lindros might not have been all that that he was projected to be when drafted first overall by the Nordiques in 1991, he never was and is not now a "might have been" person.

What might have been is, and what Lindros is, is simply one of the most generous athletes ever to play professional sports. Finally freed in 2001 of the stain associated with working for Snider and Clarke, who in tandem conducted a relentless assault on his person and reputation, Lindros emerged as one of the most popular and well-respected players in the NHL among his peers.

When Lindros formalized his retirement with an announcement Thursday, he donated $5 million - five million dollars! - to the London (Ont.) Health Sciences Foundation, which features a sports-medicine clinic co-founded by Dr. Peter Fowler, the surgeon from No. 88's hometown who cared for him throughout his career.

Lindros may or may not have Hall of Fame numbers, but they're favorable compared to recent inductees Cam Neely and Clark Gillies, and you could look it up. He had as much impact in the league as any player drafted in the '90s.

If Lindros had played on a team with Patrick Roy in nets while Peter Forsberg spent his prime playing with Ron Hextall and Garth Snow, Lindros would have the Stanley Cup championships and Forsberg would be dragging his aching feet around seeking his first, who's kidding whom here?

Hall of Fame voting is a closed and secret process largely dominated by hockey's good-old-boys network. Chairman Snider will never allow Lindros to gain entry to the Hall. But that's OK, for Lindros, who will be elected to the newly created position of NHLPA ombudsman in a conference call of the executive board scheduled for tonight, has things to do and places to see.

The NHL was a better league for having Lindros in it. Now the Players' Association is a better union for having Lindros in a position of influence.

When Eric has influence, he uses it, and he uses it constructively. In 30 years of being around this game, knowing Lindros has been one of our great pleasures.

[Jordan 13]

I remember a friend getting a group of us a great deal on some truly unbelievable seats for the 1991 Canada Cup - all of the games at Copps Coliseum.

That was the first time that I saw Lindros play live. He had yet to play a game in the NHL yet he not only held his own with the elite players of the era, he looked like one of the best on the ice.

He had it all speed, power, soft hands, quick feet...skills that almost shouldn't go together...simply awesome.

After Canada won the final game, my friends and I were standing outside of the arena strategically determining which bar we could get into the quickest, when I looked around and saw the most surreal site. There was Lindros, outside on the side walk, wrists still taped, sweat drenched undershirt still on and a pair of shorts, barefoot, talking to his parents.

They said, "good game", and his mom planted a kiss on his cheek. It was just like any kid after his game talking with his parents; yet, at the same time I couldn't believe how big he was. I had just seen him dance on the ice like he was weightless, but here he was and he looked more like a linebacker than a hockey player.

I have always been struck by that image of the man child that he of course was - part little boy after the game and part chisled granite monster.

He was an amazing athlete..too bad it didn't last longer.

[Trooper 8]

He did help build a franchise....Colorado. Lindros was an immature ingrate. I put him up there with Eli Manning in the whiny "I'm not going to play for your organization" category. The guy was overrated and never should have been mentioned as a potential great in the same breath as Lemieux and Gretzky.

[supahdon 0]

He did help build a franchise....Colorado. Lindros was an immature ingrate. I put him up there with Eli Manning in the whiny "I'm not going to play for your organization" category. The guy was overrated and never should have been mentioned as a potential great in the same breath as Lemieux and Gretzky.

Quebec was a highly undesirable place to be. Steve Yzerman, who most consider a clasy player, said at the time he would not report to Quebec if he had been traded there. John Vanbiesbrouck and Tony Amonte also expressed similar reservations when they were potentially "traded" for Lindros (see below).

The funny thing about Quebec/Colorado was that early in the negotiations, the Nordiques asked for either Peter Forsberg or this other prospect named Slava Butsayev. Just crazy to imagine what if Forsberg hadn't been the one included in the final package.

Lindros from 92-00 was worthy of being mentioned alongside Lemieux/Gretzky. It's kinda sad to know that it's been over seven years since Lindros really meant anything to the sport. It's a shame that the latter half of Lindros' career erased most people's memory of how dominant he was in the 90s.

He voluntarily sat out two seasons in his prime to force trades, which might negate the "similar stats to Cam Neely" argument.

I was reading some old articles from 1990-92 regarding Lindros, and it is amazing how he changed the course of numerous franchises.

Detroit was rumored to be after Lindros, but resisted trading away the young versions of Fedorov, Lidstrom, Lapointe and were rewarded with multiple Cups.

New Jersey wanted Lindros badly as well. In 1989--two years before Lindros was draft eligible--Lou Lamoriello went out of his way to acquire an extra 1991 first round pick (from Toronto) with the hopes of landing Lindros. Toronto had the 2nd worst record in 1990-91; The Devils ended up with the 3rd overall pick (expansion San Jose was assigned the #2) and drafted Scott Niedermayer.

A year later, the Devils made a strong pitch to trade for Lindros but fell short. As a Devils' fan, I theorize the package resembled something like: one of Claude Lemieux/Stephane Richer, Kevin Todd (was 24 and coming off a 60 point season), one of Bill Guerin/Brian Rolston, Eric Weinrich, and Sean Burke. Burke and Weinrich would be traded later for Bobby Holik and a draft pick than became Jay Pandolfo. Lemieux/Richer were big in the 1995 Cup win and Guerin/Rolston provided good years in NJ. I just like to imagine what could have been if Lindros had had Stevens/Niedermayer/Brodeur behind him.

Before the 1992 Draft, Quebec reached a handshake agreement with Philadelphia to trade Lindros. Nordiques owner Marcel Aubut proceeded to call New York Rangers' GM Neil Smith to see if he'd top the Flyers' offer. Smith offered Tony Amonte, Doug Weight, Alexei Kovalev, John Vanbiesbrouck, 1st round picks in 93/94/96, and 12 million dollars.

Aubut then tried to submit the Rangers' offer to the NHL 80 minutes after the Philadelphia offer was accepted. The Flyers filed a grievance and a week later, it was ruled that the Flyers trade would be held up.

Do the Rangers win their Cup in '94 with Messier/Lindros leading the way? Do they sustain their success since Amonte/Weight/Vanbiesbrouck were traded for Tikkanen/Noonan/Matteau/Lidster who were at the end of their careers?

[hunterphfr 12]

While we're speculating what if.... someone recognized early on concussions were going to end Lindros's career early, just like his brother. What if they took his size, speed, shot and hands into account. Could he have been dropped back onto defense 6-8 years ago? His size and ferocity would have made him a solid defenseman, his hands and speed would have given him potent offensive skills. His career also could have been drawn out much longer instead of being ended early, look at Chelios. Instead of taking hits he could have been dishing them out, which he could do as well as anybody.

[Theo 1]

While we're speculating what if.... someone recognized early on concussions were going to end Lindros's career early, just like his brother. What if they took his size, speed, shot and hands into account. Could he have been dropped back onto defense 6-8 years ago? His size and ferocity would have made him a solid defenseman, his hands and speed would have given him potent offensive skills. His career also could have been drawn out much longer instead of being ended early, look at Chelios. Instead of taking hits he could have been dishing them out, which he could do as well as anybody.

With the touch icing though he would have probably still got blasted at times

[Trooper 8]

Quebec was a highly undesirable place to be. Steve Yzerman, who most consider a clasy player, said at the time he would not report to Quebec if he had been traded there. John Vanbiesbrouck and Tony Amonte also expressed similar reservations when they were potentially "traded" for Lindros (see below).

That may be, but it is still a BS move, even if Sakic had done it. But, like I said, it worked out pretty well for Colorado.