It's not a surprise that Eric Lindros has declined his invitation to take part in the commemorative ceremony at the September 27 preseason game honoring the 15 captains in Flyers history. Citing a schedule conflict for an unspecified memorial service, Lindros informed the Flyers this week that he would not be attending the ceremony.
Given the nature of Lindros' bitter divorce from the organization, and the bad feelings that lingered for years, it would dishonest to say people here aren't wondering (at least a little) if Lindros really has to be at a memorial or if it's his way of declining the invitation in a way he thinks no one can question.
I hope it's the former.
If Lindros truly knows he has to be at a memorial planned for nearly a month away, that's one thing. Obviously, something like that should take precedence over a preseason hockey game.
But if he's using it as a convenient excuse to stay away, shame on him. He's missing an opportunity to finally get the proper closure on a Philadelphia career that had many happy times before things turned sour.
So much of Eric's career was defined by marvelous possibilities, missed time and unfortunate endings. Some of it was his fault, some of it wasn't. But with the passage of time, does it really matter anymore who's to blame?
This was a chance for Eric Lindros to embrace his place in team history -- and the last opportunity to do it at the place where many of his greatest NHL games were played. It would have been nice to have him there, but the event will go on.
With the likes of Bobby Clarke (to Philadelphians, "Bobby" is the player and "Bob" is the GM), Bill Barber, Dave Poulin and Ed Van Impe on the ice, there'll still be plenty of special memories to commemorate.
The Flyers also plan on bringing back the surviving players from their 1973-74 and 1974-75 Stanley Cup teams for a ceremony at the Oct. 7 exhibition against the Phantoms.
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I have been heavily involved in re-editing chapters of the Pelle Lindbergh book, which is why I've blogged a little less frequently over the last two weeks.
This has been a year where many of the surviving pieces of his legacy have started to disappear. The Hammarby IF hockey program that gave him his start in the sport has folded after 86 years of existence. The Spectrum is going to be demolished after this season.
And perhaps most sadly of all, the tangible pieces of his hockey accomplishments passed from the hands of his family to someone who had only his own profit in mind.
It's a long, sad story that essentially boils down to the family being misled into thinking the items -- which were kept untouched in Pelle's childhood bedroom and cared for until recently by his widowed mother, Anna-Lisa, who is now elderly and in fragile health -- had little value apart from their sentimental worth.
The guy convinced the family he'd be doing them a favor by giving them a small amount of money relative to their actual worth in order to take care of the room full of trophies, equipment (some of which was made by hand by Pelle's late father), mementos from the 1980 Olympics and other tournaments and items given to him by some of his coaches and fellow players.
He took care of the stuff, all right. He promptly auctioned off about 30 of the most valuable online to private collectors, raking in anywhere from about $250 to well over $2,000 per each item.
It's not upsetting that the family sold the items. They had the sole right to choose what to do, whether it was to keep them in the family, sell them or donate them to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto (which had expressed interest in acquiring the collection for permanent preservation and display certain rare items for the public).
What upsets me is that an unscrupulous person took advantage of the family's trust and Anna-Lisa Lindbergh's advancing age. If the family were going to sell the items, they should have been the ones to get what their worth monetarily. Instead, they got pennies on the dollar.
Prior to the auction, family friends attempted to buy back the items and return them to the family. They were laughed at -- the guy knew he could get much more money by auctioning them than by doing what's right.
It's not an uncommon story, but it's a real shame.
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The Continental Hockey League regular season gets underway on Tuesday. Indications are that Flyers prospect Denis Bodrov will be in uniform for Lada Togliatti's opening game but still intends to leave the club to attend training camp with the Flyers as a non-contracted player.
It's going to be very interesting to see how thing work out if Bodrov makes the Flyers' NHL team. I would not be surprised if Bodrov winds up playing this season in Russia and then comes over next season with an NHL training camp under his belt.
Defensive d-man Bodrov closed out the KHL preseason yesterday with an offensive flourish, scoring a goal and adding an assist in Lada's 3-2 win over Neftekhimik.
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The 50th installment of Sweden's legendary TV-Puck tournament gets underway next weekend. The tourney is a real rite of passage. Virtually every Swedish player of consequence in the NHL or international hockey got his start by playing in this nationally televised under-17 tournament-- ranging from Börje Salming. Thomas Gradin and Pelle Lindbergh to Nicklas Lidström, Mats Sundin and Henrik Lundqvist.
For those who are interested, I wrote an
article on NHL.com earlier this week about the tournament's history and setup.
By the way, Daniel Alfredsson is one of the few prominent NHLers who was not selected to played in the tourney for his home province.
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Flyers fans will have a new book on the team to add to their library this year. NHL.com's Adam Kimelman has authored a book called
Philadelphia Flyers: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The book will be available in early October but can be pre-ordered on Amazon.com.
Some other books of interest:
*Keith Jones' book,
Jonesy: Put Your Head Down and Skate is a fast and very entertaining read.
* Earlier this year, I picked up Stephen Brunt's
Searching for Bobby Orr and couldn't put it down. If you haven't read it yet, it's an absolute must-read on the greatest defenseman the game has ever seen -- and the way the game itself changed.
* If you've ever wondered what it's really like to coach (or play) in Russia, Dave King's
King of Russia: A Year in the Russian Super League is a tremendous account of King's experiences, both on an off the ice, as the head coach of Metallurg Magnitogorsk during the 2005-06 season.
* I just started reading through Howard Shapiro's children's book, "Hockey Player for Life" and plan to show it to my nephew the next time my wife and I visit her brother's family in Dallas. It's a story about how young athletes don't always reach their goals but a love of the game and the friendships that grow out of it are what's enduring. Those interested can order it on
Amazon or copies can be purchased directly from the author by emailing him at
[email protected] or call his office at 866-520-4286.
Finally, Inside Hockey's Farjan Devji is a talented young writer who just published a hockey fiction book geared toward younger readers. It's entitled
"The Hockey Farmer." If you've never read his stuff, it's worth checking out.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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