Classy Lindros honored
Former Flyer Eric Lindros was the epitome of class during his induction into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday night at the Sheraton Society Hill .
Classy Lindros honored
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
Former Flyer Eric Lindros was the epitome of class during his induction into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday night at the Sheraton Society Hill .
Before he started his acceptance speech, Lindros said his thoughts were with those who were affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Lindros, 39, who is getting married later this month, later thanked his two former Legion of Doom linemates, John LeClair and Mikael Renberg, along with the trainers and former PR man Joe Kadlec. He also thanked GM Paul Holmgren for making him feel welcomed and inviting him to last season’s Winter Classic alumni game at Citizens Bank Park.
When he played in Philly, Lindros said, he was motivated by “the most passionate fans in the world.”
Lindros’ final days with the Flyers in 2000 were not pretty as he was in a very public feud with then-general manager Bob Clarke. But Lindros, to his credit, has moved past that and seems very comfortable with himself and his life as a business entrepreneur.
Prior to the induction ceremony, Lindros talked candidly with the media about a number of topics. Some of the highlights:
** He thinks the red line should be returned and that it would slow down the game and reduce concussions. The word concussion was “never used” when he played, Lindros said.
** He smiled softly as he talked about coach Roger Neilson using an odd video clip to demonstrate teamwork.
“He showed all these geese flying across the screen and it was, ‘Where are you going with this, Roger?’ ” Lindros said. “Well, if one falls behind, another one of the flock comes and stays with it and the flock keeps going with it. You got to be with your teammates through geese.”
** He supports the players in the labor dispute that has shut down the NHL. "They just want the contracts that they signed to be honored,” he said.
Seems like a rather reasonable request.
Rink ceremony. Ed Snider, chairman of the Flyers’ parent company, Comcast-Spectacor, Mayor Michael Nutter and other city and state officials will attend a grand re-opening of the refurbished Tarken Ice Rink in Oxford Circle on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
The event celebrates the culmination of the four city rinks that have been reconstructed and fully enclosed. Snider has been the driving force behind the project.
Several former Flyers will be at the event, and the public is invited to a free public skating session after the ceremony.
Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.
If #88 would have been on any other team in his prime, the league would not have allowed teams to take runs at him like they did.— shadesofdeath- b) guys were starting to take exception to him crushing people like he did, and were running at his knees.
I don't recall Darius Kasparaitis or Scott Stevens going for his knees.— Sidney Crosby - Who is he engaged to?! He is STILL gorgeous— abhousen21
- What a first class athlete and human being....this guy always gave it hos best when on the ice ...too bad more athletes arent like him...the biggest issue with Eric was his parents over involvement and Clarkes arrogance and jealousy which caused the feud..Clarke could see that Erics name would one day be bigger then his and he couldnt take it .too bad he had his career cut short he would have scored 500+ goals..Congrats Eric and congrats for the way you have handled things!!— flyers1000
- Eric Lindros may be the most talented hockey player that does not have his name on the Cup. 88 elevated the play of those on his line, from Brent Fedyk to John LeClair to Keith Jones. Amazing vision and passing skills. I saw him on a rare PK shift where he kept the puck behind Detroit's blue line by himself for two minutes. But he did not 'bring it' every night, there were plenty of floating shifts and series and crazy injuries that came with the dominating play (Clarke famously said during contract negotiations that if E wanted to be paid the best he had to play like the best). 1 MVP and 1 runnerup trophy in Philly sports lore puts him right there with McNabb and Iverson.— playboy
- Big E and the legion of Doom. No one wanted to come to play us during those years either. Watched some of his hits the other day, and he was crushing people. Yeah, he paid for it as well, but no one dominated the ice like him, and he wasn't waiting to take cheap shots. You saw the e train coming across the rink.— arcadegm
- I was at the event, and Eric could not have been nicer or more accommodating to the attendees. He was also with his fiance, who (as you'd expect) was a solid 9.5. The stuff that went down with him cannot eclipse the fact that he was one of the all-time greats in any sport in Philadelphia history.— intheweeds
- Looks like #88 gained about 88lbs! Business must be good!— BleedPhilly
- Congrats to #17 for convincing Snider to bring Eric back to the fold; and Eric has moved on. If Paul had been GM a few years earlier the drama would have been avoided. Remember, 17 was the first true big power forward the Flyers had (also an all-star) and the bond (fellow swedes) was always evident between the two from the minute Paul returned after his GM assignment with Hartford.— Northcountry
- co - I think they told Lindros to back off because a) no one had seen a player like him before and didn't know what to do with him. b) guys were starting to take exception to him crushing people like he did, and were running at his knees.— macd41144
- Class endured for Eric.......and since there was no mention of the diva classless clarke it was a fine showing....dam shame BC was such a great player and such a lousy gm and led the league in pettiness....(he knew what the Lindros were when he hired them all, and he dealt with them for years, and then pout on his crybaby skirt and whined for years.....Hope he has grown up by now...— nuggett
- I will still never understand the reasoning for many people (Clarke, even Gordie Howe) telling Lindros to back off in his physical play at times or he would get injured and wouldn't have a long career. He still was always injured and didn't have a long career! When he was physical, he was the most dominant player in the league, but when he backed off he was just another player out there. I still don't get it even today.— co
- My favorite Lindros moment--I was at a game, lower level behind the other team's goal (for that period). Lindros snapped a wrist shot that you couldn't even see. The goalie makes the move, puck rebounds out. Guy behind the goal with the clicker hits it and indicates goal with the red light. Refs come over asking what he hit the light for. Guy points to the net indicating the puck went it. They actually had to go to camera replay (before replay was even used) to show that the puck actually went in. Lindros fired it so fast it hit the back of the net and shot back out the goalie's five hole before he could even make a move. They sure enough ruled it a goal. It probably wouldn't have been reviewed if the guy behind the net working the light hadn't been so adamant it was a goal.— ena1977
- Totally agree with Phinally and was thinking the same thing. How exciting it was to watch Lindros in his prime. He was a bloody monster at both ends of the rink.— Jabey
- See what Eric can do without Bonnie and Carl. Glad he finally became his own man.— thawthor88
- Ed Snider, Thanks for another rink make over for the kids!!— Earl J
- I agree that this is another good development in the road to full reconcilation. Those who remember the 90s know that he was the beast of the east. Though he did not get the Flyers to the promised land, he can arguably be classified as 1 of the top 10 flyers of all time. Let's also not forget that he had a lot fo growning up to do even through his formidable years here, and it appears he has done that. Good for Lindros and good for the Flyers to bury the hatchet and repair this relationship.— frstrm
- If there's even one person on here that can sit there and say they wouldn't KILL to have a 22 year old Eric Lindros back out on the ice with the Orange and Black.....you'd be blatently lying to yourself!! For all the people that critisize today's players, number 88 played lights out ever night and fed off the Philly passion which he brought to the ice. I remember watching him fly around in warm ups before a game just giving you the extra buzz in the building anticipating watching him play. The feud with Bobby Clarke....WHO CARES! This is about hockey and a player that 99.9% of real Philly hockey fans miss dearly.— Phinally
- I blame much of that feud on the Flyers. Yes his parents interfered but Clarke instigated it and kept it going. I mean they guy almost died because Clarke thought he was faking an injury. Clarke was too old school and I think really was jealous of the players and the contracts they were getting after his heyday. The same reason he was late to the acquisition of the Eurpean players.— ddock
"Classy Lindros??" I know people have no long-term memory these days, but, "classy?" Was it classy that a grown man had his mommy and daddy fight his battles for him? I can think of a lot of words to call a person like that, but "classy" is NOT one of them!- Worst trade in the history of Philadelphia sports. Peter Forsberg plus the draft pick that Quebec/Colorado later used to acquire Patrick Roy.— AreaMan
- The ending was bad with him and #16, but the beginning and middle was terrific. He really did care, and when he took the trophy at the NHL meetings and started fumbling and almost cried, he showed his orange and black right there. Wish he was still playing so he can knock Crosby into the 6th row some night.— RichieLemon
- It only helps the Flyers' organization to have reconciled with Lindros. In the larger scheme of things, you can only say that Lindros was a Flyer through and through.— Claudio Vernight
