VOORHEES, N.J. – Eric Lindros won't return to the NHL until
next season, at the earliest.
Lindros, a restricted free agent who was seeking a trade away
from Philadelphia, was not dealt before Tuesday afternoon's NHL
deadline.
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Tue, March 13
Bob Clarke wasn't about to make a deal just for the sake of making a deal. Eric Lindros is a pretty valuable asset and he needed to get all he could for him. Unless Clarke tells us exactly what he was about to receive for Lindros, we really can't say whether or not he should have made that deal.
But Clarke was obviously not getting what he wanted. He was not able to get Tomas Kaberle, the defenseman he wanted all along, so he simply wouldn't make the deal.
In most cases, if a team is average, players know when a team needs help and management should make a deal to let the players know they're trying. The Flyers, though, are near the top of their division and they know they can compete with any team in the Eastern Conference. The players would love to have strengthened their team, but the fact that they didn't make a move is not going to demoralize these players. Everybody wants help, but these are confident players. Not making a deal for Eric Lindros won't weigh heavily on them.
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"All along we felt that we weren't going to be able to trade
Lindros and we were proven right," Flyers general manager Bob
Clarke said.
Unless the Flyers and Lindros, who rejected an $8.5 million
qualifying offer from the club last summer, unexpectedly end their
ongoing war, Lindros will remain on the sidelines at least until
the fall.
Philadelphia was working on a deal with the Blues, and Lindros
underwent a physical in St. Louis on Monday. But a trade couldn't
be worked out, and the Blues instead acquired left wing Keith
Tkachuk from the Phoenix Coyotes.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, Lindros' first choice all along, and
the New York Rangers also made final attempts to acquire the
28-year-old center.
"We made a sincere effort, but when you're limited – he picked
four teams, but only two tried for him – and other teams know
you're limited, there was never a chance to make a deal that was
beneficial for us," Clarke said.
Lindros' attorney, Gord Kirke, said he thought the Flyers were
close to making a trade on several occasions Tuesday.
"There were some decent offers," Kirke said. "It's
disappointing, but Eric is a realist. It doesn't do him any harm to
sit around."
The Rangers weren't on Lindros' list, but New York general
manager Glen Sather said his team was "right into it until the
end."
"I hadn't spoken to Lindros' people, I'd only spoken to Bobby
Clarke," Sather said. "We talked several times today and in the
end we didn't make a deal.
"We would've either tried to sign him or move him over the
summer. It's still a risky venture. From conversations we've had,
the next hit he takes could be his last venture in the NHL.
"That's always in the back of your mind."
Kirke said he last spoke to Sather last week.
"I told Glen that Eric is very respectful of the Rangers
organization, but he was hoping to go to a playoff team," Kirke
said.
Asked if Lindros now would consider playing for the Rangers next
season, Kirke said, "It's something we'd have to look at. Now it's
time to relax, have fun. He has some time off."
Lindros, who hasn't played since sustaining his sixth concussion
last May 26, refuses to return to the Flyers because of a
contentious relationship with Clarke.
Since being cleared to skate in November, Lindros had insisted
on only playing for his hometown Maple Leafs. But a deal with
Toronto fell through three weeks ago and Kirke said Friday that his
client would consider going elsewhere.
After Carl Lindros, Eric's father and agent, contacted St. Louis
last week, the Flyers rejected an offer from Blues general manager
Larry Pleau that reportedly included center Pierre Turgeon, who can
become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
"I had my format of how I would structure a deal and he came
back to me with an offer," Pleau said. "We never really got to
the point where we can go further on my side.
"I couldn't get a contract done on the risk factor for me that
I was comfortable with Lindros."
Lindros was willing to play for Detroit or Washington, but
neither team expressed any interest in him.
"If we could've made a deal that would've helped our club, we
would've done it," Clarke said, adding that the Flyers never
considered a three-way trade "They really weren't hard decisions.
We knew (the offers) weren't enough."
Lindros has been able to dictate where he plays throughout his
career, but has little choice except to sit out this season. It's
unlikely a team would sign the 28-year-old center now since he's
not eligible for the playoffs and the Flyers hold matching rights.
He will not become an unrestricted free agent until he is 31,
and Clarke has stated that Lindros might have to sit out that long
to get what he wants.
"We'd like to trade him, but he's made his own bed," Clarke
said. "He's made it difficult for us to trade him."
Lindros, selected No. 1 overall by Quebec in the 1991 NHL draft,
refused to sign with the Nordiques, and sat out an entire season
before a controversial trade to Philadelphia for six players, two
first-round draft choices and $15 million in 1992.
The Rangers also claimed they made a deal for Lindros before an
independent arbitrator ruled Quebec's deal with the Flyers was
valid.
Lindros also refused to play for Sault Ste. Marie after being
selected No. 1 in the Ontario Hockey League draft of 16-year-olds
in 1989.
Lindros' relationship with Clarke, his childhood hero, deteriorated
to a point last season where the two men didn't speak for months. The boiling point came after Lindros criticized the team's
medical staff for failing to diagnose his second concussion of the
season on March 4.
Clarke then stripped Lindros of his captaincy, and the star was
ostracized from the team until he returned for Games 6 and 7 of the
Eastern Conference finals against the New Jersey Devils.
Clarke had an even bigger problem with Lindros' parents.
He accused Carl and Bonnie Lindros of constantly meddling in the
team's affairs. He said Carl has called him and insisted the team
not trade for certain players for reasons ranging from the player
doesn't pass the puck enough, or Eric doesn't like the player's
agent.
After Lindros suffered a collapsed lung on April 1, 1999, during
a road game, Lindros and his family had little confidence in the
team's medical staff because the potentially life-threatening
injury wasn't diagnosed until the following day.
Lindros had 28 goals and 32 assists in 57 games last season,
including four periods of the playoffs. He made six All-Star teams
and won the MVP award in 1995, but the Flyers were swept by the
Detroit Red Wings in their only Stanley Cup final with him. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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ALSO SEE
ESPN.com's NHL Trade Tracker
Trade roundup: Habs send Linden, Zubrus to Caps
Blues go big: Tkachuk acquired for three players
Tkachuk warms up to new reality
Melrose: Blues will love Tkachuk
Morganti: St. Louis, the center of attention
Frei: Chemistry 101
Cup-winning question: To trade or not to trade?
AUDIO VIDEO
 Al Morganti discusses the future of Eric Lindros' NHL career.
RealVideo: 28.8
 Eric Lindros discusses the liability of his current medical condition.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Bobby Clarke says Eric Lindros has made it difficult for the Flyers to deal him.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Blues GM Larry Pleau and ESPN's Bill Clement talk specifics involving the Lindros no-deal on ESPN Radio's Morning Show.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
ESPN's Bill Clement weighs holdouts Eric Lindros and Michael Pecca's options now that the deadline has passed.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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