RYE, N.Y. --Exactly 24 hours after Eric Lindros first
donned a New York Rangers sweater, he joined some of his new
teammates on the ice for an hourlong practice Tuesday.
Lindros, traded by the Philadelphia Flyers to New York on
Monday, has been sitting out for 15 months because of a series of
concussions and a rift with his last team.
"It's good to be back skating again," Lindros said.
"Everything's been great. It's been awhile since I've had a
dressing room to walk into after practice."
Since doctors cleared him to play again last November, Lindros
has been working out with friends in Toronto.
"I don't know what the tough part is going to be," he said of
his comeback. "I'll let you know. But I'm looking forward to it."
On Tuesday, he skated with Rangers veterans such as Brian Leetch
as well as young players in their summer workouts at the team's
facility at Rye Playland.
"I skated with a great bunch of guys back home, but it's
certainly nice to be part of an organization," Lindros said.
The 28-year-old center hasn't played in the NHL since sustaining
his sixth concussion in May 2000.
"He didn't look a step out of place there," forward Manny
Malhotra said.
Lindros' recovery time ran into the start of last season, and
his status as an unsigned restricted free agent left him without a
team to play for since his relationship with the Flyers and general
manager Bob Clarke soured beyond repair.
"He's certainly kept himself in remarkable shape," goalie Mike
Richter said. "I think maybe it's just a relief seeing him go out
there and skate like he usually does. You look at it and say `What
remarkable happened? ... Nothing.' Because he doesn't look like
he's changed a bit."
As the long-awaited trade finally came together over the course
of the last week, Lindros was forced to cut back on his busy
workout and skating schedule.
Before the Rangers could complete the trade with the Flyers,
Lindros needed to be cleared by doctors across North America. That
kept him off the ice since the middle of last week.
"I skated last Wednesday and I took a flight from Toronto to
Chicago in the afternoon to go and see (concussion specialist Dr.
James) Kelly. From there they flew me to New York to see three
doctors on Thursday.
"Then I got flown to Montreal to see a doctor up there and then
obviously couldn't skate yesterday because of the press
conference."
Once back on skates, Lindros played a 4-on-4 scrimmage --
involving about 20 players including Malhotra and Leetch -- easily
going end to end but not getting involved in any real contact.
"I just don't want to run into Brian. He's skating about 100
mph out there," Lindros said of Leetch with a laugh.
Richter, who has been on the opposite end from Lindros in many
NHL and international games, was still impressed with his new
teammate.
"We've got a world-class player that just dropped into our
laps," he said. "Those players don't come around very often. The
rare combination of size, aggressiveness and skill he has, we're
very fortunate to have him."
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