The topic comes up around this time every year.

Normally, Bob Clarke doesn't have much of an opinion on the next class to join him in the hallowed Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

It may surprise you, though, who Clarke is endorsing for next year's class. Clarke is emphatic that Eric Lindros, the player who undoubtedly caused him the most hardship during his 19-year managerial career with the Flyers, should be inducted in his first year of eligibility.

Lindros retired from the NHL in November 2007 after a 49-game stint with the Dallas Stars, making him eligible for voting by the 18-man committee in Toronto for the Class of 2010.

"I believe that Lindros should be in the Hall of Fame," Clarke said last week in a sit-down with the Daily News. "There are no actual definitions that get you in, so that is something the Hall of Fame committee will have to decide.

"For me, he won the [Hart Trophy] MVP award and the Lester Pearson award, which is the most valuable player award voted by the players. If he is good enough to win that, then I think he is good enough to be in the Hall of Fame. He really was the most dominant player in the league for a time."

It is hard to argue with Big E's stats. He netted 865 points in 760 games, which comes out to 1.14 points per game, playing a run-you-over style that made him so popular in Philadelphia. Lindros' 115 points in 73 games in 1995-96 were a personal best.

You don't need to look far, though, to find his detractors.

We all know about his off-the-ice history, which began when he refused to play for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds when they drafted him in junior hockey. That continued in 1991 when he refused to wear the Quebec Nordiques' jersey on draft day when they selected him as the No. 1 overall pick.

That circus continued in Philly. Headlined by his parent-managers Carl and Bonnie, Lindros and Clarke traded jabs through the media. Lindros' parents often called Clarke to complain about who Eric, the team captain, was skating with and about the staff and doctors taking care of him. They once said that Clarke tried to kill their son by attempting to send him home on a plane with an undiagnosed collapsed lung.

Lindros ultimately rejected the Flyers' qualifying offer in the summer of 2000 and opted to sit out the entire 2000-01 season. Lindros' last moment in a Flyers uniform saw him getting tattooed by New Jersey's Scott Stevens during the 2000 Eastern Conference final.

"With him, it was one mess after the other," Clarke said. "I didn't agree with him or his parents about what they said about the organization and some of the people who work here."

Injuries are another thing that may prevent Lindros from becoming a Hall of Famer. Of the seasons that Lindros had a professional contract, he missed 269 games due to injury. Clarke admitted that Lindros was never the same player after he left the Flyers; Lindros scored 206 points in 274 games with the Rangers, Maple Leafs and Stars. He finished his playing career with eight reported concussions.

Clarke isn't sure whether the injuries or Lindros' off-ice antics will hurt his chances. But he doesn't think either should.

"If he didn't get in, I'd be surprised," Clarke said. "The men who vote on that would probably be looking at the huge distraction his parents caused for so long. The people who vote on that take that stuff into consideration.

"Based on my opinion, he is a first-ballot guy."

When Clarke traded him to New York just 3 weeks before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Clarke was quoted as saying, "I don't give a crap if I ever saw him again." Lindros and Clarke have not spoken since.

Still, Clarke is able to put the past aside and look at Lindros' playing career in an unbiased light.

"I haven't talked to him," Clarke said. "That's fine with me. I dislike him for what he did to our organization and what his parents did to our organization.

"Even with my dislike of Lindros, I still think he should be in the Hall of Fame. You are supposed to be judged on how you play the game, not who likes you."