Last Stop for the E-Train?
I've been thinking about this column for a few weeks now, since Eric Lindros reinjured his wrist and saw his dream season as a Toronto Maple Leaf come to a pathetic end after a heroic beginning. It was originally going to be a portion of an "End to End", but I decided that its scope was too large and it deserved its own spotlight.
Simply put, in 1991, Eric Lindros was drafted to be Superman and Mark Messier's love child. The Nordiques thought they had themselves a franchise player with freakish size, strength and speed, as well as an ability to fill the net and set up teammates with ease. Add a vicious mean streak, and Eric Lindros might well have been the best thing hockey had ever seen - all before he was twenty.
By the time Lindros broke into the NHL with the Flyers, it looked like that hype could actually be justified. He was making things look easy, putting on some legendary performances between John LeClair and Mikael Renberg on Philly's 'Legion of Doom' line, captaining the storied franchise in the process.
Then the concussions started, and they didn't stop. Repeatedly flattened because of his penchant for watching his feet while skating, the E-Train's career was derailed, with arguably the most severe shot coming from Scott Stevens in 2001. After years of being the biggest kid on the playground, Lindros was not ready to change the style of game that saw him with so much success all through junior and early in his pro career - except now people weren't bouncing off of him when he had his head down, they were bouncing him out of games.
So Lindros, ever the diplomat, demanded the Flyers move him, to a short list of teams of his choice, no less.
The high-rolling, high-spending Rangers took a chance on the damaged goods, and it certainly didn't pay off. Lindros was lethargic in his first year in New York, on most nights playing without the edge he'd harboured for ten years and looking like a kid who just watched his dog run away.
Until 2003/04.
Then, out of nowhere, the old Eric Lindros came back with a passion that saw him become a headdy playmaker instead of an brutish power forward. Although, the physical part of his game was not at all lost, it just became more sensibly utilised alongside the other areas of the game he was showcasing. In one instance, Lindros went toe-to-toe with Joe Thornton, and actually dropped the then-Bruins' captain with a stiff left hand. He had 32 points in 39 games before an unfortunate incident put this new Lindros back in an old place - the pressbox.
Lindros, head down, meet Jason Doig, shoulder up. Season over.
After years of head trouble, Lindros saw his last season as a Ranger cut short when Doig's (completely clean) hit busted up Eric's shoulder, proving that other parts of the Lindros anatomy were weak as well. However this, and the lockout, freed him to pursue his boyhood dream of becoming a Toronto Maple Leaf. So that's what he did.
The cap-strapped Leafs took a chance on the big centreman, and he paid off huge when Mats Sundin went down early in the year. Lindros may honestly never have looked so involved in a hockey game as he did when his hometown team needed him, as he put up 22 points in 30 games - not even a full game of which was with Sundin in the lineup, and most of which was spent between Chad Kilger and Tie Domi. But with the injury to his wrist, and another Lindros season cut in half by a nagging injury that exceeds its own threshold of seriousness, the Big E's career is in a familiar place - limbo. No one knows what he will do, and no team really knows what they'll do about him.
However I can shed some light on it by telling you that Eric Lindros has attempted to come back from far worse than this most recent setback, so he'll certainly be back again. For my money, the Leafs will re-sign him to a similar deal because he looked so good in blue and white, but if it's not Toronto I think you'll see a massive #88 playing alongside an incredible #8 in Washington.
The risk always seems to be worth the reward for teams when it comes to Eric Lindros. The potential for this year to be the year he comes back is just too tempting for a GM not to throw a million bucks at him to see if it sticks. But you can't help wondering every time if this is the last stop for the E-Train, regardless of what history or better sense may tell you.
For the guy sitting here writing this, 2005/06 wasn't the last stop for the E-Train...but maybe it should have been. The Opinion Blog of Matthew Ryder
Simply put, in 1991, Eric Lindros was drafted to be Superman and Mark Messier's love child. The Nordiques thought they had themselves a franchise player with freakish size, strength and speed, as well as an ability to fill the net and set up teammates with ease. Add a vicious mean streak, and Eric Lindros might well have been the best thing hockey had ever seen - all before he was twenty.
By the time Lindros broke into the NHL with the Flyers, it looked like that hype could actually be justified. He was making things look easy, putting on some legendary performances between John LeClair and Mikael Renberg on Philly's 'Legion of Doom' line, captaining the storied franchise in the process.
Then the concussions started, and they didn't stop. Repeatedly flattened because of his penchant for watching his feet while skating, the E-Train's career was derailed, with arguably the most severe shot coming from Scott Stevens in 2001. After years of being the biggest kid on the playground, Lindros was not ready to change the style of game that saw him with so much success all through junior and early in his pro career - except now people weren't bouncing off of him when he had his head down, they were bouncing him out of games.
So Lindros, ever the diplomat, demanded the Flyers move him, to a short list of teams of his choice, no less.
The high-rolling, high-spending Rangers took a chance on the damaged goods, and it certainly didn't pay off. Lindros was lethargic in his first year in New York, on most nights playing without the edge he'd harboured for ten years and looking like a kid who just watched his dog run away.
Until 2003/04.
Then, out of nowhere, the old Eric Lindros came back with a passion that saw him become a headdy playmaker instead of an brutish power forward. Although, the physical part of his game was not at all lost, it just became more sensibly utilised alongside the other areas of the game he was showcasing. In one instance, Lindros went toe-to-toe with Joe Thornton, and actually dropped the then-Bruins' captain with a stiff left hand. He had 32 points in 39 games before an unfortunate incident put this new Lindros back in an old place - the pressbox.
Lindros, head down, meet Jason Doig, shoulder up. Season over.
After years of head trouble, Lindros saw his last season as a Ranger cut short when Doig's (completely clean) hit busted up Eric's shoulder, proving that other parts of the Lindros anatomy were weak as well. However this, and the lockout, freed him to pursue his boyhood dream of becoming a Toronto Maple Leaf. So that's what he did.
The cap-strapped Leafs took a chance on the big centreman, and he paid off huge when Mats Sundin went down early in the year. Lindros may honestly never have looked so involved in a hockey game as he did when his hometown team needed him, as he put up 22 points in 30 games - not even a full game of which was with Sundin in the lineup, and most of which was spent between Chad Kilger and Tie Domi. But with the injury to his wrist, and another Lindros season cut in half by a nagging injury that exceeds its own threshold of seriousness, the Big E's career is in a familiar place - limbo. No one knows what he will do, and no team really knows what they'll do about him.
However I can shed some light on it by telling you that Eric Lindros has attempted to come back from far worse than this most recent setback, so he'll certainly be back again. For my money, the Leafs will re-sign him to a similar deal because he looked so good in blue and white, but if it's not Toronto I think you'll see a massive #88 playing alongside an incredible #8 in Washington.
The risk always seems to be worth the reward for teams when it comes to Eric Lindros. The potential for this year to be the year he comes back is just too tempting for a GM not to throw a million bucks at him to see if it sticks. But you can't help wondering every time if this is the last stop for the E-Train, regardless of what history or better sense may tell you.
For the guy sitting here writing this, 2005/06 wasn't the last stop for the E-Train...but maybe it should have been. The Opinion Blog of Matthew Ryder
posted by Matthew Ryder at 4:42 AM
1 Comments:
rumors have it that he will resign here for the minimum to get another shot.
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