Eric Lindros

Eric Lindros
Hockey Hall of Fame, 2016
Born (1973-02-28) February 28, 1973
London, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 240 lb (110 kg; 17 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Right
Played for Philadelphia Flyers
New York Rangers
Toronto Maple Leafs
Dallas Stars
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 1st overall, 1991
Quebec Nordiques
Playing career 1992–2007
Website www.ericlindros.ca

Eric Bryan Lindros (/ˈlɪndrɒs/; born February 28, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Lindros played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Oshawa Generals prior to being chosen first overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques. He refused to play for the Nordiques and was eventually traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in June 1992 in exchange for a package of players and draft picks including Peter Forsberg. During his OHL career, Lindros led the Generals to a Memorial Cup victory in 1990. Prior to being drafted in 1991, Lindros captured the Red Tilson Trophy as the Most Outstanding Player in the OHL, and also was named the CHL Player of the Year. Lindros was born in London, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto.

Lindros began his National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Flyers during the 1992–93 season. He was an exemplary power forward,[1] and averaged more than a point per game. His hard-nosed style caused him to miss significant time with injuries, and he had many problems with concussions. Lindros captured the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award after the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season. In August 2001, Lindros joined the New York Rangers via trade. He then signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2005–06 season before finishing his career in 2006–07 with the Dallas Stars.

Internationally, Lindros represented Canada at the World Junior Championships three times (1990, 1991 and 1992), winning gold medals in 1990 and 1991. He is Canada's all-time points leader at the World Junior Championships with 31 points, five points ahead of Jordan Eberle and Brayden Schenn. Lindros has also represented Canada's senior team at the World Hockey Championships, leading the squad in scoring at the 1993 tournament. In Olympic play, Lindros represented Canada three times (1992, 1998 and 2002), winning a silver medal in 1992 and gold in 2002. On June 27, 2016, Lindros was one of four individuals named to the 2016 Hockey Hall of Fame class, to be inducted in November.[2]

Personal life

The oldest son of Carl Lindros and Bonnie Roszell-Lindros,[3] Eric has Swedish heritage. The name "Lindros" means "Rose of the Linden tree." His great-grandfather Axel immigrated to Canada from Bredaryd, a small village in Sweden, and Eric is the third generation of the Lindros family to be born in Canada. His father Carl Lindros received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario (where he played football, well enough to be drafted 30th overall by the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos in the 1970 CFL College Draft), and became a chartered accountant. Lindros' mother Bonnie is a registered nurse. Lindros has one brother, Brett, and one sister, Robin.[3]

Lindros' younger brother Brett played for the New York Islanders and retired early on May 1, 1996, due to post-concussion syndrome.

The book Fire on Ice, co-written by Randy Starkman and published in October 1991 by HarperCollins, chronicled the life and early hockey career of Lindros.

Lindros is married since 2012 to Kina Lamarche, a native Quebecer and former president of the North American wing of Travelex.[4] They have three children: Carl Pierre, and twins Sophie and Ryan.[2] The Lindroses live in Toronto and are close friends with the Goldie Hawn–Kurt Russell family, passionate hockey fans who are nearby neighbours at the Lindros vacation cottage in Muskoka, Ontario.[5]

Hockey career

Junior career (1989–1992)

As a teenage power forward playing minor hockey, Lindros became nationally famous both for his scoring feats and his ability to physically dominate players older than himself. He attended Monarch Park and later North Toronto Collegiate in Toronto. Both Eric and his younger brother Brett (Eric in 1988–89) played for the Metro Junior "B" St. Michael's Buzzers before moving up to the OHL. Lindros' play made him the most highly valued amateur player in North America and he was often nicknamed "The Next One", a reference to Wayne Gretzky's moniker "The Great One."

Throughout his career, Lindros has been tagged with various other nicknames, including "The Big E." The hype around Lindros during his early career led to an exclusive deal with sports card manufacturer Score. Attempting to leverage this arrangement as much as possible, he was even featured on a baseball card showing him as a third baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays, although the closest he came to a professional baseball career was taking batting practice one day with the Blue Jays.[6]

Lindros refused to sign with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds after being drafted from St. Michael's. Greyhounds owner Phil Esposito had drafted him anyway, enabling Esposito to sell his share in the team at a higher price. Lindros was traded to the Oshawa Generals instead, and when they played the Greyhounds, some Greyhound players wore black armbands in protest of Lindros' refusal to play for their team.[7]

He played parts of three seasons for the Generals from 1990 to 1992. During that time, he scored 180 goals, 200 assists, 380 points and had 437 penalty minutes in 157 games played.

Lindros helped lead the Generals to the 1990 J. Ross Robertson Cup, and a 1990 Memorial Cup victory.

During the 1990–91 season, Lindros won the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as top scorer, the Red Tilson Trophy as MVP, the CHL Player of the Year award and the CHL Top Draft Prospect Award. The Generals returned to the Robertson Cup finals, facing Sault Ste. Marie. The series was one of the more dramatic in OHL history given Lindros's attitude toward the team, with fans from the Soo loudly jeering him every time he touched the puck. The Greyhounds upset the heavily-favoured defending champions in a six-game series, winning the last game on home ice.

On March 6, 2008, the Generals retired his jersey number 88, the second number to be retired by the franchise, and it was declared Eric Lindros Day in Oshawa.[8]

1991 NHL Entry Draft

Lindros was selected first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. Lindros had signaled in advance that he would never play for the Nordiques, citing the city's isolation, lack of marketing potential, and French character, although in 2016 he stated it was owner and team president Marcel Aubut he did not want to play for.[9] Despite this, the team selected him anyway. Nordiques President Marcel Aubut publicly announced that they would make Lindros the centrepiece of their franchise turnaround, and refused to trade Lindros, saying that he would not have a career in the NHL as long as he held out. Because of Lindros' popularity and hype, it is alleged that NHL President Gil Stein intervened to get the Nordiques to trade him, as it would otherwise damage the image of the League. While he awaited a trade, Lindros spent the time playing with the Generals and also participated in the 1992 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal with Canada.

At the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, the Nordiques worked out trades involving Lindros with both the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers.[10] The Flyers trade had the Nordiques receiving Steve Duchesne, Ron Hextall, Kerry Huffman, Mike Ricci, the rights to Peter Forsberg, the Flyers' first-round pick in 1992 (seventh overall) and 1993 and $15 million.[11] The trade with the Rangers had the Nordiques receiving Tony Amonte, Alexei Kovalev, John Vanbiesbrouck, Doug Weight, three first-round picks (in 1993, 1994 and 1996) and $12 million.[12] Additionally, if Vanbiesbrouck was declared an unrestricted free agent, James Patrick would have replaced him in the deal.[12] The Flyers, believing they had consummated their deal with the Nordiques first, filed a complaint and the NHL announced an independent arbitrator would be appointed.[10]

On June 30, 1992, 11 days after the draft, arbitrator Larry Bertuzzi ruled in favor of the Flyers.[11] Bertuzzi determined that the Flyers and Nordiques had agreed to a trade 80 minutes before the Rangers and Nordiques had reached their agreement.[12] Since the Flyers used the 1992 pick to select Ryan Sittler and Quebec had no interest in Sittler, the Flyers and Nordiques had to agree on a substitution for the pick.[11] On July 21, Bertuzzi ruled that Chris Simon and the Flyers' 1994 first-round pick would be added to the trade.[13]

Philadelphia Flyers

With his imposing physical strength and playmaking ability, Lindros established himself as the top player on a Flyers team that had perennially been in contention but always fell short. His time in Philadelphia would see him score points (for much of his first 5 seasons in the NHL, Lindros hovered around 4th all-time in points per game) and become one of the most feared and dominating players in the NHL. In September 1994, Lindros succeeded Kevin Dineen as Flyers captain. Along with John LeClair and Mikael Renberg, he played on the dreaded "Legion of Doom" line. He scored over 40 goals in each of his first two seasons and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as MVP in the lockout-shortened season of 1995 after scoring 29 goals and 41 assists in 46 games and leading the Flyers to their first playoff appearance in six years.

Lindros led the Flyers to the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals, handily defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres and the New York Rangers in five games apiece. In the Finals, however, the Flyers were swept in four games by the Detroit Red Wings; Lindros' only goal came with 14 seconds left in the third period of Game 4. As a franchise player, Lindros was expected to carry the team, but he had not lived up to expectations nor had he shown leadership during the Finals series.[14][15] Detroit Head Coach Scotty Bowman used the fitness-oriented defence pairing of Nicklas Lidström and Larry Murphy against Lindros' Legion of Doom line instead of sending out—as everyone, including the Flyers, expected—Vladimir Konstantinov to engage in a physical confrontation.[16]

In 1998, Lindros, at just 25 years of age, was ranked number 54th on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players of all time. The only player of comparable age was 37th-ranked Jaromír Jágr, who was 26 at the time.

Lindros' relationship with Flyers General Manager Bobby Clarke soon deteriorated. He and Clarke feuded in the media, with Clarke questioning his toughness; Lindros spent many games on the injured reserve and suffered a series of concussions, the first in 1998 from a hit delivered by Pittsburgh's Darius Kasparaitis that sidelined him for 18 games.[17][18] Lindros would suffer a second concussion in January 1999 that sidelined him for two games. During an April 1, 1999, game against the Nashville Predators, Lindros suffered what was diagnosed as a rib injury. Later that night, the teammate he was sharing a hotel room with, Keith Jones, discovered Lindros lying in a tub, pale and cold. In a call to the Flyers, the trainer was told to put Lindros on a plane that was returning to Philadelphia with injured teammate Mark Recchi. But Jones insisted that Lindros be taken to a nearby hospital and it was discovered Lindros had a collapsed lung caused by internal bleeding of his chest wall. Lindros' father wrote the Flyers a letter in which he stated that if the trainer had followed team orders, Eric would be dead, a statement supported by the doctors who treated him in Nashville.

The 1999–2000 season would be Lindros' last as a Flyer. Having suffered his second concussion of the season (fourth overall) in March, Lindros criticized the team's trainers for failing to diagnose a concussion as he played with symptoms following a hit he suffered in a game against the Boston Bruins two weeks prior. Clarke then stripped Lindros of the captaincy for his actions. Lindros sat out the remainder of the regular season and suffered another concussion while rehabilitating for a return to the lineup. Lindros ultimately returned for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New Jersey Devils; he scored the lone goal in a 2–1 Flyers loss, and in Game 7, suffered yet another concussion after a hit by Devils defenceman Scott Stevens. The Flyers lost Game 7, 2–1 and the series despite leading three games to one, and Lindros became a restricted free agent during the off-season. He refused to accept a two-way qualifying offer with a minor league provision from the Flyers, who still owned his rights. After Lindros was cleared to play in December, the Flyers refused to deal his rights to the Toronto Maple Leafs, as he preferred, and Lindros sat out the entire 2000–01 season.

New York Rangers

Bobby Clarke eventually traded Lindros to the New York Rangers on August 20, 2001, in exchange for Jan Hlaváč, Kim Johnsson, Pavel Brendl and a 2003 third-round draft choice (Štefan Ružička). The Rangers would also receive a 2003 first-round draft pick if Lindros were to suffer a concussion in the pre-season or the first 50 games of the regular season, and did not return to action for at least 12 months.[19]

In 2001–02, Lindros averaged a little over a point a game with 37 goals and 36 assists for 73 points in 72 games. His impressive start also led to his seventh and final All-Star selection, but due to an injury he was unable to participate and was replaced by teammate Mike York. Though 2002–03 was the first injury-free season of his career, he struggled to match his previous season, scoring just 53 points in 81 games. In 2003–04, Lindros' eighth concussion limited him to just 39 games, though he did collect 32 points. He again became an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Toronto Maple Leafs

On August 11, 2005, after the NHL labour dispute had cancelled the 2004–05 season, Lindros signed a one-year, $1.55 million contract with the Maple Leafs for the 2005–06 season. After a steady start to his tenure with Toronto in which he recorded 22 points in 32 games, Lindros suffered a tear of a ligament in his left wrist against the Dallas Stars on December 10, 2005. After a 27-game absence, Lindros returned to the Toronto lineup on February 28, 2006, his 33rd birthday, against the Washington Capitals. His return was brief, however, as he re-injured his wrist while taking a slapshot in a game against the Ottawa Senators on March 4, effectively ending his season. He had surgery on the wrist at the Hand and Upper Limb Centre in London, Ontario, two days after the game.

Dallas Stars and retirement

Lindros signed a one-year contract for the 2006–07 season with Dallas on July 17, 2006.[20] He would play in 49 regular season games collecting 26 points, and three games in the 2007 playoffs.

Lindros officially announced his retirement on November 8, 2007, in London at the age of 34.[21]

Career achievements

Post-playing career

On the day of his retirement, November 8, 2007, it was also announced that Lindros had donated $5 million to the London Health Sciences Centre. This donation supports programs such as the Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic, and is one of the largest personal donations by a Canadian sports figure.[22]

On November 11, 2007, three days after his retirement, the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) appointed Lindros to the newly created position of NHLPA ombudsman. Lindros had been involved with the organization throughout his career.[23] Lindros cut ties with the NHLPA, however, on February 3, 2009, resigning as ombudsman after 15 months on the job.[24]

On May 9, 2010, Lindros, along with his mother Bonnie, supermodel/actress Monika Schnarre and a few other Canadian notables, helped Habitat for Humanity Toronto by recognizing Mother's Day by building homes.[25] On December 31, 2011, he played in the 2012 NHL Winter Classic Alumni Game between the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers.

In June 2016, Lindros was announced as one of four appointees to the 2016 Hockey Hall of Fame induction class, joined by the late Pat Quinn, goaltender Rogie Vachon and Russian winger Sergei Makarov.[2]

Transactions

Awards

Junior

Award Year
Jack Ferguson Award 1989[26]
Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy 1991
Red Tilson Trophy 1991[26]
OHL First Team All-Star 1991[26]
CHL Player of the Year 1991[26]
Memorial Cup All-Star 1991[26]
OHL Top Draft Prospect Award 1991

Professional

Award Year
NHL All-Rookie Team 1993
Hart Memorial Trophy 1995
Lester B. Pearson Award 1995
NHL First All-Star Team 1995
NHL Second All-Star Team 1996
Bobby Clarke Trophy 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999
NHL All-Star 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002

International

Award Year
IIHF World U20 Championship All-Star Team 1991
IIHF World U20 Championship Best Forward 1991
Winter Olympic Games Ice Hockey All-Star Team 1992
World Championship All-Star Team 1993
World Championship Best Forward 1993

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1988–89 St. Michael's Buzzers CJBHL 37 24 43 67 193 27 23 25 48 155
1988–89 Canadian National Team — 2 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
1989–90 Detroit Compuware Ambassadors NAHL 14 23 29 52 123 — — — — —
1989–90 Canadian National Team — 3 1 0 1 4 — — — — —
1989–90 Oshawa Generals OHL 25 17 19 36 61 17 18 18 36 76
1989–90 Oshawa Generals M-Cup — — — — — 4 0 9 9 12
1990–91 Oshawa Generals OHL 57 71 78 149 189 16 18 20 38 93
1991–92 Oshawa Generals OHL 13 9 22 31 54 — — — — —
1991–92 Canadian National Team — 24 19 16 35 34 — — — — —
1992–93 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 61 41 34 75 147 — — — — —
1993–94 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 65 44 53 97 103 — — — — —
1994–95 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 46 29 41 70 60 12 4 11 15 18
1995–96 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 73 47 68 115 163 12 6 6 12 43
1996–97 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 52 32 47 79 136 19 12 14 26 40
1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 63 30 41 71 134 5 1 2 3 17
1998–99 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 71 40 53 93 120 — — — — —
1999–00 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 55 27 32 59 83 2 1 0 1 0
2001–02 New York Rangers NHL 72 37 36 73 138 — — — — —
2002–03 New York Rangers NHL 81 19 34 53 141 — — — — —
2003–04 New York Rangers NHL 39 10 22 32 60 — — — — —
2005–06 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 33 11 11 22 43 — — — — —
2006–07 Dallas Stars NHL 49 5 21 26 70 3 0 0 0 4
NHL totals 760 372 493 865 1398 53 24 33 57 122
OHL totals 95 97 119 216 304 33 36 38 74 169

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1990 Canada WJC 7 4 0 4 14
1991 Canada WJC 7 6 11 17 6
1991 Canada CC 8 3 2 5 8
1992 Canada WJC 7 2 8 10 12
1992 Canada OG 8 5 6 11 5
1993 Canada WC 8 11 6 17 10
1996 Canada WCH 8 3 3 6 10
1998 Canada OG 6 2 3 5 2
2002 Canada OG 6 1 0 1 8
Junior int'l totals 21 12 19 31 32
Senior int'l totals 44 25 20 45 43

All-Star Games

Year Location   GP G A P
1994 Madison Square Garden 1 0 1
1996 FleetCenter 1 0 1
1997 San Jose Arena 0 2 2
1998 General Motors Place 1 0 1
1999 Ice Palace 0 0 0
2000 Air Canada Centre 0 0 0
2002 Staples Center DNP — — —
All-Star totals 6 3 2 5

International play

Olympic medal record
Men's ice hockey
2002 Salt Lake City Ice hockey
1992 Albertville Ice hockey

Played for Canada in:

Quotes

By Lindros

About Lindros

References

  1. ↑ Dryden, Steve (November 13, 2014). "The cases for Eric Lindros and Don Baizley in the Hall of Fame". TSN.ca. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 LeBrun, Pierre (June 27, 2016). "Eric Lindros finds his way into Hockey Hall of Fame -- finally". espn.com. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "88 – Eric Lindros [Archive". HFBoards. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  4. ↑ "Not so crazy now, am I?", ESPN Magazine
  5. ↑ Lee, Denny (September 20, 2005). "Into Canada's woods: Hollywood". The New York Times.
  6. ↑ , The Baseball Card Project, accessed August 31, 2006.
  7. ↑ Lindros Snubs the Nordiques: Did You Know?, CBC.ca, accessed July 17, 2006.
  8. ↑ Oshawa Generals news archives
  9. ↑ http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/17942372/nhl-hockey-hall-fame-former-philadelphia-flyers-great-eric-lindros-seems-happy-content
  10. 1 2 Macnow, Glen; Parrillo, Ray (June 21, 1992). "Flyers Say Lindros Deal Was Done". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 Miles, Gary (July 1, 1992). "The Lindros Decision: It's The Flyers' Deal". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 Bondy, Filip (July 1, 1992). "HOCKEY; Lindros Moves to Broad Street, Not Broadway". The New York Times. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  13. ↑ Jensen, Mike (July 22, 1992). "Flyers Add Player To Draft Choice To Complete Costly Lindros Trade". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  14. ↑ "SI Flashback: Stanley Cup 1997". CNN.
  15. ↑ "Stanley Cup Finals '97". Hockeynut.com. 1964-04-16. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  16. ↑ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nhl/news/20130709/eric-lindros-hockey-hall-of-fame/ Archived March 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  17. ↑ "Eric Lindros timeline". CBC News. November 30, 2000.
  18. ↑ "CNNSI.com". CNN.
  19. ↑ "Lindros refreshes Rangers' file". Associated Press. August 21, 2001. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  20. ↑ Lindros signs one-year deal with Stars, ESPN.com, accessed July 17, 2006.
  21. ↑ ESPN - Report: Lindros retirement to be announced this week - NHL
  22. ↑ "Eric Lindros Donates $5 Million to London Health Sciences Centre". Lhsc.on.ca. 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  23. ↑ Hockey Night in Canada, CBC, aired November 17, 2007.
  24. ↑ Eric Lindros Resigns as Omsbudsman ESPN.com, February 3, 2009
  25. ↑ "News & Markets". CanadianBusiness.com. 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 2009–10 Ontario Hockey League Media Information Guide. Ontario Hockey League. 2009.
  27. ↑ "Lindros undecided about playing future".
  28. 1 2 "After retirement, Lindros may join NHLPA staff".
  29. ↑ "Eric Lindros is a Hall of Famer: Clarke". CBC News. November 9, 2007.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Drake Berehowsky		 Jack Ferguson Award
1989 		Succeeded by
Pat Peake
Preceded by
Owen Nolan		 NHL first overall draft pick
1991 		Succeeded by
Roman Hamrlik
Preceded by
Owen Nolan		 Quebec Nordiques first round draft pick
1991 		Succeeded by
Todd Warriner
Preceded by
Mike Ricci		 CHL Player of the Year
1991 		Succeeded by
Charles Poulin
Preceded by
Mark Recchi
John LeClair		 Winner of the Bobby Clarke Trophy
1994, 1995, 1996
1999 		Succeeded by
John LeClair
Mark Recchi
Preceded by
Sergei Fedorov		 Winner of the Hart Trophy
1995 		Succeeded by
Mario Lemieux
Preceded by
Peter Forsberg		 EA Sports NHL Cover Athlete
NHL 99 		Succeeded by
Chris Pronger
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Kevin Dineen		 Philadelphia Flyers captain
1994–2000 		Succeeded by
Éric Desjardins
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