Eric Lindros

Lore & Background

As a teenage power forward playing minor hockey, Lindros became nationally famous both for his scoring feats and his ability to physically dominate players older than himself. He played parts of three seasons for the Oshawa Generals from 1990 to 1992, scoring 97 goals and 119 assists for 216 career points in 95 games. During the 1990–91 season, Lindros won the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as top scorer, the Red Tilson Trophy as MVP, the CHL Player of the Year award and the CHL Top Draft Prospect Award. Lindros led the Generals to a Memorial Cup victory in 1990.

Lindros was selected first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1991 NHL entry draft, even though Lindros had signaled in advance that he would never play for the Nordiques, citing the ownership. In a 2016 interview, Lindros revealed that this decision was based entirely on the behavior of Nordiques owner and CEO Marcel Aubut. Despite this, the Nordiques selected Lindros anyway. At the 1992 NHL entry draft, the Nordiques worked out trades involving Lindros with both the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers. An independent arbitrator ruled in favor of the Flyers on June 30, 1992.

With his imposing physical strength and playmaking ability, Lindros established himself as the top player on a Flyers team that had perennially been in contention but always fell short. In September 1994, Lindros succeeded Kevin Dineen as Flyers captain. Along with John LeClair and Mikael Renberg, he played on the dreaded 'Legion of Doom' line. Lindros led the Flyers to the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals, where they were swept in four games by the Detroit Red Wings.

Reader's Guide

Lindros' significance stems from his status as an exemplary power forward who averaged more than a point per game in the NHL, despite a hard-nosed style that caused him to miss significant time with injuries, including many concussions. He captured the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the most outstanding player after the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season. His refusal to play for the Quebec Nordiques after being drafted first overall in 1991 led to a landmark trade to the Philadelphia Flyers in June 1992 for a package including Peter Forsberg, Steve Duchesne, Ron Hextall, Mike Ricci, and multiple draft picks. Lindros represented Canada internationally at three World Junior Championships (winning gold in 1990 and 1991) and three Winter Olympics (winning silver in 1992 and gold in 2002). He was Canada's all-time points leader at the World Junior Championships with 31 points until surpassed by Connor Bedard in 2023. In 2016, Lindros was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. His jersey, #88, was retired by the Flyers in 2018.

Did You Know?

• He won the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award in the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season.
• Lindros' refusal to play for the Quebec Nordiques led to an arbitrator ruling in favor of a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers in 1992.
• His jersey number 88 was retired by the Oshawa Generals in 2008 and by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2018.