Eric Lindros made his NHL debut in a preseason exhibition game against the Quebec Nordiques.
Eric Lindros was a Quebec Nordiques draft pick. Before he played a game for them however, he was traded to the New York Rangers. And the Philadelphia Flyers. On the same day. He played for both teams during his career. Confused? I don't blame you.
Eric Lindros was the highest-touted prospect since Wayne Gretzky, receiving the nickname "The Next One". Quebec had the first pick at the '91 draft, but the Lindros family told the Nordiques that they didn't want Eric playing for them. The Nordiques chose him anyway, and Eric reused to report to the team. During the 91-92 season, Lindros played for Canada at the Canada Cup, the World Juniors, and the Olympics, scoring 11 points in 8 games for the Olympic team. Just before the '92 draft, Quebec shipped Lindros off. However, both the Flyers and Rangers thought they had got him. In the end, the Flyers got Lindros in a 6 player, 2 draft pick, 15 million dollar deal. In his first season in Philly, Lindros scored 75 points in 61 games, getting 147 PIM.
Lindros was a great player with Philadelphia, but never played a full season with them. After sitting out the 00-01 season, the Flyers traded Lindros to the Rangers, who finally got the London, Ont. native. He did not do well with the Rangers, and signed with the Maple Leafs. After one season with them, he finished his career with the Stars. He finished his career with 865 points in 760 games, and has been repeatedly snubbed by the HHOF since.
In an interesting point, if the Rangers had gotten Lindros in '92, Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, and Mike Ricci would have stayed with the Flyers, while Tony Amonte, Alexei Kovalev, John Vanbiesbrouck, and Doug Weight would have gone to the Nordiques.
Thanks for reading and keep updated for more hockey card posts!
No comments:
Post a Comment