Lindros Ready To Announce His Retirement
Posted 12:09 PM ET | Comments 3
It only seems fitting for the once labeled "The Next One" to have his retirement go unnoticed after all of the troubles Eric Lindros experienced in the NHL. As a Flyers fan, I believe that it's quite sad to see Eric go out this way--just last week I had scoped Youtube to find any tape on Lindros, back when he was with the Flyers, back when his future looked so bright.
But once again, irony struck.
Much like the hopes of Flyers fans like me that Eric would bring the city of Philadelphia a Stanley Cup, I couldn't find much of Eric in a Flyers uniform. Those clips that I did find though, clearly showed one of the most dominant, if not the most dominant player of the mid-nineties. It was no secret how great Lindros was on the ice, and even when the opposition knew and saw when #88 was on the ice--they could do but watch him skate into corners, rough around the defenseman, or whoever unfortunately went after the puck before "Big E" came chugging along to dig the puck out and somehow get it on net--where usually big John LeClair stationed himself.
Before the concussions, before the fights with the upper echelon of the Flyers organization, and before Philly fans finally had enough with Lindros, #88 was an icon. He won a Hart Trophy, took the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals, and was on the most proficient line in the NHL--The Legion of Doom.
Sadly though, Lindros' legacy will not be that of his dominant play, his superior size and strength, but of his concussions. The unfortunate concussions and other assorted injuries that took a giant down, who had such potential, and yet, never quite worked out to the idea that many in the Flyers organization expected. The Flyers chased after Lindros because they expected a Stanley Cup, something that had slipped them numerous times in the '80's. Yet, it simply wasn't to be.
So today, we say farewell to "The Next One". The once dominant man in hockey is now retired--taking on a job with the NHL Players' Association over the summer--which virtually assured of his impending retirement.
I'll see if I can get some quotes from some sources once he is officially retired. He's holding a press conference in his hometown of Ontario.
But once again, irony struck.
Much like the hopes of Flyers fans like me that Eric would bring the city of Philadelphia a Stanley Cup, I couldn't find much of Eric in a Flyers uniform. Those clips that I did find though, clearly showed one of the most dominant, if not the most dominant player of the mid-nineties. It was no secret how great Lindros was on the ice, and even when the opposition knew and saw when #88 was on the ice--they could do but watch him skate into corners, rough around the defenseman, or whoever unfortunately went after the puck before "Big E" came chugging along to dig the puck out and somehow get it on net--where usually big John LeClair stationed himself.
Before the concussions, before the fights with the upper echelon of the Flyers organization, and before Philly fans finally had enough with Lindros, #88 was an icon. He won a Hart Trophy, took the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals, and was on the most proficient line in the NHL--The Legion of Doom.
Sadly though, Lindros' legacy will not be that of his dominant play, his superior size and strength, but of his concussions. The unfortunate concussions and other assorted injuries that took a giant down, who had such potential, and yet, never quite worked out to the idea that many in the Flyers organization expected. The Flyers chased after Lindros because they expected a Stanley Cup, something that had slipped them numerous times in the '80's. Yet, it simply wasn't to be.
So today, we say farewell to "The Next One". The once dominant man in hockey is now retired--taking on a job with the NHL Players' Association over the summer--which virtually assured of his impending retirement.
I'll see if I can get some quotes from some sources once he is officially retired. He's holding a press conference in his hometown of Ontario.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to leave a comment.Blog Archive
07 Lindros Ready To Announce His Retirement
08 Big Win Against Pens; Flyers Face Devils In New Building
09 Flyers Quit After First Period, Go On To Lose 4-1
11 Flyers Defeat Pens 5-2
13 Upshall Shines, Flyers Win 3-2
08 Big Win Against Pens; Flyers Face Devils In New Building
09 Flyers Quit After First Period, Go On To Lose 4-1
11 Flyers Defeat Pens 5-2
13 Upshall Shines, Flyers Win 3-2
Perhaps the most dominant player to ever play in Philadelphia--as far as sheerly imposing his will on the opposition when healthy--this side of Wilt and Lefty.
It's only unnoticed because in the United States, all hockey is unnoticed. Lindros is still making headlines in Canada. Up here it's been big news, and there was a huge two-page piece on it in the Toronto Sun today. Lindros was the best player of his generation, and had he known to keep his head up, he'd still be the best. He's on his way to the Hall of fame.
He made grown men look like little boys when he first came on the seine. He did as he wished and no one could stop him. I was never a Flyers fan but I was an Eric Lindros admirer. One can only imagine what he would have accomplished had he not been injured so many times. He could have been one of the all time best.