PHILADELPHIA -- Flyers general manager Bob Clarke says he
will make another attempt to convince Eric Lindros to re-sign with
the club when he is cleared to play again.
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"Lindros won't be ready until December, and whether we get him
back, who knows?" Clarke said Tuesday night on Comcast television.
When asked whether he would reach out again to Lindros, he said
"Yes."
"My opinion is, you don't have to like me, you play for your
teammates," said Clarke, who earlier cited injuries to Lindros,
John LeClair and Mark Recchi as a reason for the Flyers' poor start
this season.
Lindros, who has suffered a series of concussions, remains a
restricted free agent.
Asked whether he could withstand the kind of controversy and
angst that developed over the relationship with Lindros last year,
Clarke said he could if he had to.
"I'd rather be dealing with it and having him playing," he
said.
Lindros, now a restricted free agent, is recovering at home in
Canada from his sixth concussion.
Clarke said that since only Lindros knew when he would be
healthy, he controlled much of his own fate.
The general manager said he asked Lindros during the NHL draft
in June if there was a way the two could work out their
differences. After Lindros said no, Clarke said, he announced that
he would try to trade him.
Lindros, the former captain and franchise player, rejected the
team's $8.5 million qualifying offer in July after a long and
bitter feud, saying health and peace of mind were more important.
His lawyer, Gordon Kirke, said the fact the offer included a
minor league clause indicated the Flyers did not want Lindros to
re-sign. The team said inclusion of such a clause was standard
procedure.
Clarke said he has no offers for a trade and there are no
assurances that a club would want Lindros in December or January.
"If he is going to come back, he has to have a team that will
trade for him and will sign him, and probably in the opposite
order," Clarke said. If he doesn't find a willing team, "he'll
have to come back and play for us," said Clarke, who added the
club could not give Lindros away for nothing.
Neither Lindros nor Kirke could be reached for comment.
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AUDIO VIDEO
 Flyers GM Bob Clarke thinks Eric Lindros controls his own future.
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