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It is sometimes hard to believe that it's been 20 year since Eric Lindros first set foot in Philadelphia as member of the Flyers, and 11 years since he was traded to the Rangers. It was such a bittersweet journey. But, as so often happens, the passage of time has allowed many of the old wounds to heal.
Nowadays, it is much easier to focus on the many positives and good times from his Flyers career. The drama, distractions and divisiveness -- not to mention all of the injuries -- have given way to recognition of what a great player Lindros truly was.
This player who "never fulfilled his true potential" still managed to win a Hart Trophy (1994-95) and to be a finalist another season (1995-96). He was well on his way to winning or being a Hart finalist again in 1998-99 until he missed the stretch drive due to a collapsed lung. In his eight seasons on the Flyers' active roster, Lindros was a four-time Bobby Clarke Trophy winner as Flyers' MVP and was selected to six NHL All-Star games.
At the time Eric Lindros was traded to the Rangers, there were only two players in the entire history of the NHL who had a higher points-per-game average than the 1.36 points per game he had in Philadelphia. Those players were Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
Lindros' career points-per-game average ultimately dropped to 1.13 points per game. That was because his production in New York, Toronto and Dallas tailed off as his concussions mounted and his on-ice role steadily diminished from top-line center to that of a supporting cast member.
Yes, his decline happened prematurely. But as far as his Philadelphia years were concerned -- even with all the injuries and off-ice distractions -- Lindros was absolutely the once-in-a-generation franchise player he was touted to be.
People say, "Yeah, well, he never won a Stanley Cup." My retort to them is always that individual players don't win or lose the Stanley Cup. Teams do.
Question: How many Cups did Wayne Gretzky win in the 11 seasons he played AFTER he left those ultra-stacked Edmonton teams?
Answer: The same number of Cups that franchise defenseman Ray Bourque and the iconic Cam Neely won in Boston. The same number that Darryl Sittler, Marcel Dionne and other Hall of Fame caliber franchise players won during their careers. The same number that Mario Lemieux celebrated before the Penguins assembled the likes of Jaromir Jagr, Ron Francis, Paul Coffey, Mark Recchi/Rick Tocchet, Kevin Stevens, Joey Mullen, Ulf Samuelsson and Tom Barraso around him. The same number of Stanley Cups that Eric Lindros won.
In other words, zero.
Meanwhile, Edmonton went on to win an additional Stanley Cup the second season after Gretzky's departure. Did that mean Gretzky wasn't really all that important after all? Of course not. It meant the Oilers still had the right mix of players and peaked at the right time of the season. Hockey is a team game. Teams win, teams lose. End of story.
Eric Lindros' Flyers teams were always one additional top-flight defenseman and a little more consistent goaltending away from going all the way. They also had buzzards' luck when it came to key injuries stacking up at the most inopportune times.
In my nearly 40 years of watching hockey, I have never seen another player I could directly liken to Lindros at his best. He was such a rare combination of sheer brute force and delicate finesse. Lindros was able to do things like switch his stick from the right to the left as he came around the net or to score goals from pretty much anywhere over the blueline. His bodychecks were nothing short of thunderous.
One week from today, Eric Lindros will be inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. He joins Bobby Clarke, Bernie Parent, Bill Barber, Mark Howe and Ron Hextall among the Flyers players who have been selected. Other inductees include Fred Shero, Ed Snider, Gene Hart and college hockey legend Hobey Baker (who was a Philadelphia area native).
It is a much deserved honor.
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Here are today's games involving Flyers players in Europe and Flyers' prospects. Times are listed in eastern U.S./Canada time.
Södertälje SK vs. BIK Karlskoga (1:00 PM)
Coming off an outstanding game in Västerås, Matt Read and SSK will look for their eighth win in the last nine games. His linemate, Carl Hagelin, is day to day with a deep shoulder bruise. Live game updates in English will be available here. The game will be broadcasted on Viasat and the subscription Viaplay.se site but, unfortunately, is region-blocked outside Sweden.
Lev Prague vs. Sibir Novosibirsk (2:00 PM)
Jakub Voracek has been upgraded to day-to-day status as he nears his return to action from an early October knee injury. He stood behind the bench in street clothes yesterday in Lev's game against Amur, and there is a chance he could be given the green line as soon as today.
However, with a nearly two-week leaguewide schedule break coming up after the weekend -- Lev plays again Saturday and then is off until Nov. 14 -- the team may opt to wait until after the break to get him back in the lineup.
The game can be viewed via free webcast. Additionally, live in-game English updates will be available here.
Peterborough Petes vs. Oshawa Generals (7:05 PM)
Oshawa center Scott Laughton will serve the third game of his 10-game OHL suspension but teammate Colin Suellentop will occupy his usual spot on the Generals' starting blueline. Tough guy Derek Mathers will be in the Petes' lineup.
* Claude Giroux had two assists in Eisbären Berlin's 4-3 overtime win yesterday against the Hannover Scorpions. Danny Briere had a bit of a rough day, going pointless and minus-two at even strength. Briere did, however, register six shots on goal. Several came during a five-minute power play for Berlin at the start of the third period. The team was unable to score and skated off with two points from an OT win rather than three for a regulation victory.
* Wednesday was another strange day for Ilya Bryzgalov. Having not started -- or even dressed -- in a game since Oct. 18, he served as the backup yesterday for Ilya Proskuryakov. Usual starter Rastislav Stana had the day off.
CSKA built up a 3-0 lead through two periods. In the third period, Metallurg scored three goals in the first half of the period to tie the score. Immediately after the third goal, at the 8:37 mark, Proskuryakov was pulled. Bryzgalov came in.
On the second shot that Bryzgalov saw, ex-Flyer Randy Robitaille scored to put Metallurg ahead, 4-3. Bryzgalov was pulled for an extra attacker in the final minute and Metallurg scored an empty-net goal for its fifth unanswered goal, and a 5-3 win.
Because he entered the game when it was tied, Bryzgalov gets the loss in the game for about 10 minutes worth of work.
* Tom Sestito had a late-game assist in the Sheffield Steelers' 5-2 win over the Coventry Blaze. For the second straight game, Sesito stayed out of the penalty box. Former Flyers prospect Colin Shields (the only Scottish-born and trained player that Philadelphia has ever drafted) scored two goals for Sheffield.
PROSPECT UPDATES
* Taylor Leier assisted on his Portland Winterhawks team's third goal in a 5-2 win last night against the Everett Silvertips. He was plus-one for the game. In eight games played since his return from an abdominal muscle tear, he has seven points (two goals, five assists). The assist yesterday was the secondary helper on an Oliver Björkstrand goal.
* Fredric Larsson returned to the Brynäs J20 team lineup yesterday after a two-game absence. He had no points or penalty minutes and was even in plus-minus (plus zero, minus zero, out for one opposing power play goal) in a 6-3 win over Västerås J20.
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