Eric Lindros / John LeClair pre-game presser, courtesy of the Flyer beat writers:
LINDROS: We were just talking about the last time we had suits on together. It’s been a while. Maybe my wedding?
LECLAIR: I think that was the last time
(Say to fans)
LECLAIR: It was great. They always made you feel welcome, especially here. The support was second to none. We always felt that support. They always believed in us. It was great.
LINDROS: They know hockey here. They know the ins and outs of the game. They know when things are going well and when they’re not. They know, in some cases, really definitively why. As vocal as they are, it’s great when things are rolling, and it’s a real pick-up-your socks when things aren’t going so strongly. They’re true fans.
(Come back in the building, do you miss playing?)
LINDROS: I still play a little bit. I love the game. I think the game is just a beautiful game. It’s terrific. It’s a chance to catch up with people, everything to being on the ice to everything that takes place off the ice. I think it’s the best sport.
LECLAIR: For me, it was awesome. I loved playing. I don’t miss it so much, I miss a lot of the other stuff that’s not actual playing stuff than I do playing. But when you come here and you see the rink and see guys getting ready to play like that, it’d be fun to go out there and skate and play and get back into it.
(With rule changes – what would you have as a line today?)
LINDROS: I don’t know if you count it like that. I think we could adapt to the rule changes. That said, I went to the pregame skate today and I saw Minnesota cruise around, and puck-handling skill and output shots – everything’s getting better and better. But with the rules changes, I think we could have adapted. I don’t see why we wouldn’t.
LECLAIR: Yeah, the game changed during the time that we played a little bit, through the time we were there. But like Eric said, the guys today, the speed of the game and the skill level, it’s much different than when we played.
(Favorite goal you had together?)
LECLAIR: Every winning goal, that was about it.
LINDROS: I don’t know if there’s one in particular. I think anytime we played Montreal and this guy, he would just wake up with a smile. It was always fun to be part of those games when Johnny was wound up to go against his former team.
LECLAIR: What was fun sometimes was, we would get to a faceoff, and Eric would just say, ‘take off.’ And he’d hit the puck, instead of trying to win the faceoff, he would hit it forward and just go. I think the first time we tried it, it worked, and it was kind of like, ‘oh my.’ It didn’t always work.
LINDROS: ‘Omaha’ didn’t fly, but some did turn out, I guess.
(How the league is handling concussions?)
LINDROS: I think things have gotten better. I think things still have a ways to go. I played my best hockey here and from the last time I played here, and of course in New York, I didn’t have the confidence of cutting through the middle of the ice. That’s essentially why I moved to the wing, I didn’t feel comfortable. Concussions in general, I think they’re being, and it’s unfortunate that a lot of the larger-name players are affected by them, but it brings a spotlight to them, if that could be a silver lining. It’s gotten better. Is there a ways to go, is there more research to be done? And where’s the collaboration and the research with all this? Are we implicating efforts in the Northeast – is everyone talking? What’s happening with this? I think there’s a lot of people that want to do the right thing, I’m just not sure that we’re on the same page in terms of sharing ideas.
(league filed a motion to dismiss the class-action suit)
LINDROS: I had not heard that, and I actually had not read the suit that was filed.
(when they say that players should have put 2 and 2 together …)
LINDROS: I think you’re looking at a different era. Every so often things are changing. Communication improves. Sensitivity to certain issues improves. What used to be accepted and the norm in previous times is clearly not now. I really can’t get the ‘should of known’ issue. You just hope overall that people are healthy and are living lives that are whole. There’s a lot more to life after hockey. You’ve got a long way to go. It’s nice to be one, or as full as you can be.
(what does legion of doom mean to you? How often do you talk?)
LECLAIR: I think that’s one of the reasons we were successful as a line, we were all pretty close. We see Renny once in a while. We still talk with Renny. He and I talk a bit (Lindros).
LINDROS: Renny lived across the street from me and two and a half blocks from Johnny, so we were all in the same area. We’d see each other.
(Now?)
LINDROS: Well, Renny’s in Sweden.
(But do you still consider yourselves close?)
LINDROS: I think we’ll always be close in that sense.
LECLAIR: It was a great line. I mean, those two guys …
On the name “Legion of Doom”
Lindros: We had fun with it.
LeClair: Yeah, it could have been a lot worse, I guess. I know Jimmy Montgomery still wants credit for it.
On Lindros case for HHOF…
LeClair: I think it’s an easy case. I think when you look at Eric when he played, he was dominant. When you compare some of the players who have gotten in that played with him, it’s not even close. When players were getting ready to play, they weren’t saying, ‘Oh my God, I’ve got to play against so and so or so and so.’ Every time they had to play against Eric, they knew they were playing him two or three days ahead of time and they were ready because they knew that he was just a dominant force out there and they had to be ready. You can go through all the statistical stuff with the goals per game and all that other stuff. I think, what, is he third for points per game? It will be whatever. His comparison blows a lot of guys out of the water.
Lindros: That’s exactly what I told you to say. Very well done.
When John came in changed chemistry…
Lindros: Big body that can skate, finish, that’s what really got things going in practice. Not just going through a drill, but when you’re gonna go through all these regroups and go back in on a 3-on-2 to end it, well, let’s make sure we score. That’s where Johnny was so focused and strong with finishing things off. It was great. I think we should also point out that Mikael Renberg is a huge part of this. Mikael Renberg was a fantastic player in his own right. He had a great shot. He did everything that you could ever ask of a winger or a player on your team. To have him consistently with us and on our line, we can’t say enough about him. One of the fiercest forecheckers you’d ever come across. Very fast. Great hockey sense and a terrific guy to be around.
John for HHOF…
Lindros: When I would get hurt, Johnny really stepped in and scored a lot of goals at big times when it looked like our team didn’t have what we’d say was our normal roster. Johnny would really step up. For sure.
I think Johnny should be a Hall of Famer. I do. I think if you look at that point in time from ’92 to the World Cup. I don’t think there was a better player in the ’96 World Cup…maybe the goaltender, but we don’t count them. ’96 World Cup, that’d be it.
LeClair: Who won that?
Lindros: We got you in Salt Lake.
I think there’s absolutely a strong case.
Detroit finals change perspective after they were a dynasty…
LeClair: It didn’t make it any easier. We lost four straight. We felt pretty good about our season that year. Obviously it was nice we gave Detroit that confidence to go become a dynasty.
Lindros: That wasn’t the intent. They truly haven’t thanked us.
Aspirations to get back into hockey…
LeClair: Not right now. For me, it’s nice to be able to be flexible if my kids need me or if I chose to do something and want to see my kids play and go visit them I can do that. I enjoy that a lot right now. In five or six years when they’re out of school and doing their own thing, maybe, but not right now.
Lindros: No, not at all. I think life is good. I love hockey for what it is and I play hockey all the time, but in terms of going back to the front office, no not at all.
Most appreciate about the other…
Lindros: Johnny’s ability to score from the craziest of angles, to find loose pucks, when you thought the play was 85 percent done, and not just to find pucks but do something with them. Another thing that people overlook sometimes is John’s ability to pass the puck. John could pass he puck extremely well. I think people overlook that.
Q: Beyond wins and losses, had to deal with glare every day?
Lindros: Well, it is what it is, right?
LeClair: “What I always wondered if what hype did he not live up to. I mean, he won a Hart Trophy. He scored 100 point. I never got that. He had the respect of his teammates and carried the Flyers for five years or however many years he was here. How many?
Lindros: “Eight.”
LeClair: “I just never got it. When you’re his teammate, he went above and beyond. He was one of the greatest players to play. I never got that.”
Q: John, is there something that you underappreciated about Eric?
LeClair: “For me, it was Eric pushed you so hard You wanted to be better because you wanted to be able to keep up. And to be able to play with him, you had to push yourself because he was that good. And he would yell at you in practice, ‘Come on, you’ve got to go harder.’ Or if we were doing a skating drill, he’d be like, ‘Come on, we’ve gotta lead. You try to catch him and he was always leading the pack and always pushing guys that you’ve got to expect more out of yourself.”
Lindros: “Rod Brind’Amour was a big part of that, too, as far as pushing the envelope on how far we could get things moving. So it was a good group and a good balance that resulted in you being in better shape.”
Q: Eric, what do you view as the highlight of your career? For John, it has to be winning the Stanley Cup in Montreal. When you look at your career, what is it?
Lindros: “I don’t know it’s one thing. Probably the whole picture and having a chance to play what you think is very well at times. I don’t know if you’ve ever gotten into a spot where you just feel like things are rolling.
Reporter shakes head no.
Lindros: “You’re not feeling it? That’s too bad. You just get into this wonderful feeling that you always remember.
Q: And when was that for you, Eric?
Lindros: “When we were rolling in the mid-’90s. We had extremely strong teams and it felt good to come to the rink. It felt good to be part of the club. In all facets, we had wonderful times, wonderful teammates. We had guys with different characteristics, different personalties. We had a really good group.”
Q: What do you guys expect from the ceremony?
LeClair: “I think on our end it’ll be short. I think it’s nice. The Flyers always do things first class, so I think it’s going to be great.”
Lindros: “Yeah, we’ve had a lot of friends in town and family in town, and it’s a nice time to look back and say thanks and to celebrate that window. That’s the nice thing about pro sports. You’re not looking at a real long time period. You’re looking at a very short, condensed, intense moment and some people are fortunate to stay 20 years in an organization, some people go back and forth. When you do have a real strong feeling of feeling things are really rolling, you cherish it.”
Q: Eric, given the way your time with the Flyers ended, did you wonder if this night would have occurred?
Lindros: “I think time dilutes most feelings. Life’s short, and I think that can be said for both sides of the equation. When (Flyers president Paul Holmgren) called (to tell me I was going into the Flyers Hall of Fame), it caught me off guard. (John and I) got chatting and we said, ‘Let’s go into this together.”
Q: Now that this night is happening, Eric, does it bring you any closure?
Lindros: “Closure? I don’t know if you at it in terms of closure. I think the outdoor game (in 2012) was more of a sense then of moving forward or crossing the hurdle in terms of being part of it again. It feels good.”
Q: You guys had some of your best years during the clutch-and-grab era of the ‘90s when scoring was down. Do you think doing well in those seasons should strengthen your Hall of Fame credentials?
Lindros: “It is a lot more wide open (now). Later on in our careers, there were power plays where if you didn’t have your power play rolling … You were getting five or six a night. It kind of went from that, then as players adapted to the rule changes, then the four-line experience really started to occur. Because before you could get away with playing your power-play guys all the town and your penalty-killing guys as well, and then you basically ran three lines., I felt, on the teams I was with.”
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