How did people feel about Lindros refusing to play for the Nordiques?

[Riddum]

It had absolutely nothing to do with English vs French. Lindros has said numerous times that if it was Montreal that had drafted him, he would have glady played there.

 

[D Wakaluk]

Thanks for these. Great clip from the first game against Quebec in Flyers uniform! Almost weird to see fans so involved

 

[NyQuil]

I remember that Bonnie and Carl, the parents of Eric Lindros, were household names.

How many parents are that well-known?

Either Lindros was a spoiled brat or his parents were way too involved in his career. Those were the prevailing opinions.

Whether or not language was the actual issue, it was inevitably wrapped up in the discussion.

I remember in Gretzky’s autobiography, he told Sault St Marie not to draft him because he wouldn’t report to the team.

Well, they drafted him, and he reported to the team.

 

[member 305909]

If you don't know how North-American professional sports leagues work you might find it strange that slaves don't have a say who their masters are but thst is how North-American sports work.

 

[Auston Marlander]

I think it wasn't known what a p.i.t.a his father was at the time either till later in his career with philly.

His mother was also a POS. His parents lived near my parents and its well known how entiltled they were. The phrase, "Do you know who my son is?!" Was used often.

 

[danyhabsfan]

It was something about Aubut. He was being an idiot.

Also Eric's wife is from Montreal and his brother was in french immersion.

Such a racist...

 

[Ignatius]

Lindros's refusal to play for the Nordiques may be the ultimate reason why the franchise moved from Quebec to Colorado.

Lindros being traded from Quebec may be the ultimate reason why Colorado won the Stanley Cup in 1996.

 

[al secord]

The sea was angry that day my friends.

 

[MXD]

I dont know what it was like then, wasn't old enough to really know the situation, but I do honestly believe that if Lindros, as someone who didn't speak french, was to be sent off to be the face of the Nordiques that he would have an awful time.

Namely because my experience as a tourist trying my best to speak french in Quebec city was absolutely awful on two separate occasions, and I was paying them instead of the other way around. lol.

The face of the Nordiques for the last 10 years or so had just been...
Wait for a it...
A Slovak.

 

[MXD]

This is an interesting one because there's an "official" side to the story about language and marketing, but there's also another part of the narrative that isn't exactly public knowledge.

It is. Well, you have to dig a little, and preferably dig in French.

With retrospect, Lindros' move is perfectly understandable.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

Should have been the Sharks pick, anyways.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

Anyone else remember when Vegas got the #1 pick?

They didn't need it with the choice of half the players in the league. Sharks only got half of the North Stars.

 

[TheMule93]

Diva

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

17 year olds back then sure looked different than 17 year olds nowadays lol

 

[NyQuil]

It is. Well, you have to dig a little, and preferably dig in French.

With retrospect, Lindros' move is perfectly understandable.

It is by today's standard.

Back then, you were considered privileged to be selected by any NHL team and to look that gift horse in the mouth was very disrespectful.

The point of the entry draft was to allow the bottom feeders to rise back up competitively.

If #1 future superstars (and he was the biggest since Lemieux) choose to sidestep that process, there were long-term ramifications for the league.

 

[MXD]

It is by today's standard.

Back then, you were considered privileged to be selected by any NHL team and to look that gift horse in the mouth was very disrespectful.

The point of the entry draft was to allow the bottom feeders to rise back up competitively.

If #1 future superstars (and he was the biggest since Lemieux) choose to sidestep that process, there were long-term ramifications for the league.

It was also the first time a CEO of an NHL team went out of his way to annoy (...and I'm being kind here) the mother of said future superstar.

I wonder how it would've gone if the Lindros' said something like "The only way we accept playing for that team is Aubut resigning".

 

[NyQuil]

It was also the first time a CEO of an NHL team went out of his way to annoy (...and I'm being kind here) the mother of said future superstar.

It's one of those "he said" "she said" situations.

I know that Aubut has a horrific reputation (and I have a few personal stories about this) but Bonnie also was not very well regarded.

I'm not really sure where the truth is.

Sakic was drafted four years before and didn't make any fuss about playing in Quebec. He was often employed as the comparison to Lindros at the time.

 

[JackSlater]

Most people thought that Lindros was spoiled and his parents were too involved. He'd already pulled that move in junior and was now doing it in the NHL. Some agreed with him but not the vast majority. People are citing Lindros' father a lot here, and justifiably, but his mother was viewed as more involved at the time. For my money she was the tougher of the parents, or at least she spoke more publicly.

It seems that the issue was with the organization. There were rumours that the owner, Aubut, had insulted Bonnie Lindros in French without realizing that she could understand French. Lindros' parents were well versed in finance and rightly questioned the team's financial situation. There was talk that they were concerned with limited promotional opportunities being in Quebec City. With Canada's linguistic tensions at the time it was pretty widely assumed that Quebec separatism was an issue, though Lindros claims that he would have played for Montreal. In retrospect, I think that the Lindroses were very aware of Eric's value as the hottest commodity in hockey. They had successfully gotten their way in the OHL and they tried it again in the NHL, and it pretty much worked again. At the very least they were correct about Quebec City not being a very good situation to walk into, though obviously the franchise turned around upon moving to Colorado.

 

[TheBloodyNine]

If it's a player that has that type of clout, more power to him. Although in the end, everything worked out for Colorado didn't it?

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

I read it was because of the owner and his dad wanting him to play in either Toronto or a US market.

 

[FourRings]

When you stand back and realize human beings should be able to work where they want it is difficult to blame him for using his power to do so.

There aren't many professions where you only have one possible employer that will pay you top dollar. If I graduated top of my class at Harvard Law I would have unlimited employment opportunities in most countries and cities around the world. There would be no cap on my starting salary. I would not be forced to stay with one company for a predetermined amount of time.

If I am drafted 1rst I have one option or I play in a lesser league (unless I can force a trade). I have earnings limits that can be meddled with by my employer. Maybe I can make the team but they keep me down to control me longer because they are rebuilding. Maybe I am held off the power play so I don't get my 20 goal bonus. There are so many ways you can be screwed with which simply does not exist in other fields.

In sports if you want to work in the top league you are treated like property, it's almost slave like. We can say "boo hoo" they are millionaires playing a game and we ignore the many negatives. If he has the power to play where he wants why shouldn't he? Because of the sentimental attachments of the fans of your draft team? It's selfish to expect him to play somewhere he doesn't want to when he has the power to force a situation that suits him better.

If Matthews had refused to play for Toronto and demanded a trade to a US team I would probably have an emotional reaction, but ultimately it would be selfish on my part.

Except the purpose of the draft is infusing high-end talent to teams that are lacking in it to create more parity in the league. I agree with you that people should be able to decide where they live and work, but things like this completely fly in the face of the league and I don't think it's too much to ask to adhere to the norms of the league in which you play. As an NHLer you're nothing like a non-athlete; there are pros and cons to it just like there is with any other job on the planet. I'm a big Giants fan (NFL) and I don't think what Eli Manning did was right. It just seems to be against the spirit of the game.

 

[Voight]

It wasn't a political (language) issue. It was more that Quebec City was/is a small market, and the Lindros family thought that would limit Eric's branding/marketing. Lindros did the same holdout/forced trade to his OHL team (Sault Ste Marie).

Most viewed Lindros as a brat and he was vilified throughout his career because of this and other incidents -- including issues with his brother Brett's draft, and his father's meddling at all career junctions.

Doesn't help that he held out for a trade out of Philly a decade later, at that point he was a 30 year old man.

How many guys have held out 3 times in their career?

I will say that "some" of his parents meddling worked out for him. To this day he has made a lot of money off financial investments largely because his parents put his money to good use and didn't pull a Jack Johnson on him. They have set him up for life.

 

[ColdSteel2]

I wonder if Lindros would have stuck with them had he known they would move to Colorado a few seasons later.

 

[pitcher]

It wasn't political at all. The media made it political. The Lindros family didn't liked Marcel Aubut that's all. And if you know Aubut then you know the Lindros family was right...People keep saying thing like "Lindros hated french canadians blah blah" heck... Eric Lindros wife is a french canadian from Quebec City

This is the best post. While his parents were definitely taking too much place in his career, Lindros in a Montreal french talk show admitted that the main reason was Marcel Aubut. His parents didn’t trust him, and they were right about that.

Lindros appeared to be real genuine and nothing but a nice person in this interview. He said that he would have played in Montreal if he had been drafted there.

 

[Voight]

In his peak, mid-late 90's, he was better than Mario and Jagr. Who else do you have in mind that time?

Hasek won Hart trophies over both Mario + Jagr. Not saying Hart = Best player but theres certainly an argument to be made that Hasek was better for a couple years in the late 90s.

Also, I wouldn't say Lindros was the absolute best player in the 90s. He had a few good years but Jagr had plenty of those himself.