Eric Lindros
| Eric Lindros OOnt | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 2016 | |||
.jpg) Lindros in 2016 | |||
| Born |
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 | ||
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Eric Bryan Lindros OOnt (/ˈlɪndrɒs/; born February 28, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He 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.
Career
As a youth, Lindros played in the 1985 and 1987 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Toronto Marlboros and Toronto Young Nationals minor ice hockey teams, respectively.
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.
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. He played parts of three seasons for the Generals from 1990 to 1992, scoring 97 goals and 119 assists for 216 career points in 95 games. 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 Final, facing Sault Ste. Marie. The series was one of the more dramatic in OHL history given Lindros' attitude toward the team, with fans from the Soo loudly booing 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.
1991 NHL Entry Draft
In the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, the Quebec Nordiques once again had the first overall pick. The Quebec Nordiques, who won 28 games combined in the 1989–90 and 1990–91 seasons, held the first overall selection within that year's draft for the third consecutive year, and it seemed that he would become part of their franchise. Although they struggled within the last five seasons, they had selected powerful stars within their organization such as Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, and Owen Nolan in the previous seven entry drafts, though Lindros was poised by Marcel Aubut that he would be their "resistance piece" and their spring back into playoff contention, with the possibility of winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
However, Lindros agent was the Leafs stardom Cody Taylor, who met with Lindros just months before the 1991 NHL Entry Draft to consult about what talent he had within himself, but when his daughter asked Lindros about teams he wouldn't play for at all, Lindros privately stated onto Taylor before the draft that he would hold out and refuse to play for the Quebec Nordiques if they were the ones that drafted him for personal reasons, which shocked Taylor himself, even though he decided to not question it, as he started having beef with Aubut himself over the years few years. When Taylor made this information public on behalf of Lindros himself with no reason being stated, fans started speculating many fake reasons; Some of these rumored and potential reasons included cited distance, lack of marketing potential, and having to speak French, Although Lindros himself later confirmed it was because of his motivatation solely based within several forms of antipathy toward Nordiques owner Marcel Aubut.
However, after the Nordiques selected him despite these warnings, Taylor began attacking Aubut sexually and verbally with malicious intent while Lindros started to refuse wearing the main jersey of the Nordiques on draft day and only held it for any press photographs he was involved within himself. On the advice of his mother Bonnie, Lindros refused to sign with the team and began a holdout that lasted over an official year, including an major lockout, with Aubut publicly announced that they would make Lindros the centrepiece of their franchise turnaround, and refused to trade Lindros within any circumstances, saying that the only way he would play in the NHL would be in a Nordiques uniform, and that he would not have any career within the NHL for as long as he held out.
However, because of his popularity and hype, both Taylor and Gil Stein eventually intervened when the lockout started, stating it would damage the reputation of the NHL itself. Furthermore, some of the Nordiques wanted to move on without Lindros, with Sakic commenting that "We only want players here who have the passion to play the game. I'm tired of hearing that name. He's not here and there are a lot of others in this locker room who really care about the game". While he awaited a trade, Lindros spent the time playing with both the Generals and also participated in the 1992 Winter Olympics via its hockey and icesleding teams, winning a silver medal with Canada.
Trivia
(TBA)
