The One and Only Eric Lindros

[barabas21]

I remember Eric Lindros from his junior days to his career in the show. I have never seen the combination of size, skill, toughness that he had. Neither did scouts at the time.

Is he the greatest athlete to ever play in the NHL? Is there any chance we ever see someone like him in the future?

 

[ChiTownPhilly]

I'll go as far as to say there's a case for "most imposing physical talent." That way, I sidestep all of the near-semantical (or perhaps not-so-semantical) questions about what's wrapped up in the sub-set of attributes that we attach to the modifier/noun "greatest athlete."

 

[daver]

I'll go as far as to say there's a case for "most imposing physical talent." That way, I sidestep all of the near-semantical (or perhaps not-so-semantical) questions about what's wrapped up in the sub-set of attributes that we attach to the modifier/noun "greatest athlete."

Sort of like LeBron James perhaps.

 

[JackSlater]

No, not the greatest athlete in NHL history. I'm sure that we'll see someone with basically the same physical attributes to go along with high level skill, but the way things are now and how they're trending I doubt that the player would be developed into the type of player that Lindros was. Even in this upcoming draft the projected second pick Byfield is 17 and 6'4, 215 pounds with lots of talent. Coming out of Toronto area just as Lindros did. Despite his size he rarely engages physically and everyone is pretty much fine with that.

 

[Conbon]

Zdeno Chara at 6'9 250lbs of pure muscle. Still at 42 placing at the top of Boston's strength and conditioning testing. Stories about him asking to play all 60 mins in games.

 

[DannyGallivan]

I remember Eric Lindros from his junior days to his career in the show. I have never seen the combination of size, skill, toughness that he had. Neither did scouts at the time.

Is he the greatest athlete to ever play in the NHL? Is there any chance we ever see someone like him in the future?

When he was healthy, he was the best player of his generation outside of Mario Lemieux (who was, in hockey terms, probably a generation earlier but whatever). Too bad he was made of glass. He was a beast, great hands, could skate, was a game breaker and could create plays. Injuries decimated more than his body, they decimated his legacy. He was good enough for multiple Hart Trophies... if only the Flyers could have built a stronger team around him while they had the chance.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

You can make an argument for him as the greatest U20 athlete in hockey for sure. He was basically man-sized at 16 and to this day I still haven't seen a better manifestation of the ''man among boys'' cliché than Lindros with Oshawa in 1990-91. It was almost ridiculous looking some nights.

 

[Stephen]

I think he still sets the benchmark for what that first overall sizzle is all about. Size, skill, hype, meanness.

 

[Michael Farkas]

I don't mean this derisively, he's in the HOF on sizzle...

 

[Cursed Lemon]

Depends on what you mean. Was he the fastest big guy who had great hands and could actually put points up? I supppooooosssseeee. But I also have to imagine that the "greatest athlete the NHL has ever seen" should've had a stat line that looked more like Mario Lemieux's than Luc Robitaille's.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Athlete != hockey player.

Some guys are better athletes than hockey players. It's a noteworthy distinction that I make when scouting certainly...

 

[sr edler]

Zdeno Chara at 6'9 250lbs of pure muscle. Still at 42 placing at the top of Boston's strength and conditioning testing. Stories about him asking to play all 60 mins in games.

Anyone can ask to play all 60 minutes in a hockey game. Heck, anyone can ask anything.

Sometimes these stories about Chara gets an air of urban myths, like the one where he speaks 7 languages fluently (I still haven't heard him speak Swedish, he did English interviews while playing for a few months with Färjestad).

I'll say though that this isn't meant as a Chara bashing post at all, I agree he's probably up there among the top ever, but as an athlete in general with his background in wrestling, not as a hockey player.

Did people actually see Chara the raw hockey product? It looked like the Eiffel Tower had just decided to put on a pair of skates and tried its way out on the frozen Seine on a particularly cold winters day. Stiff. Then he fought his way up the WHL and the AHL, and the rest is history as they say.

By the way, if Chara (or anyone else) actually tried to play all 60 minutes in a game today they would probably have to cheat a bit on the defensive side of the puck. Like reverse floating. US HHOF member Coddy Winters got accused of doing this by the University of Ottawa while Winters played with Cleveland, they said he very seldom moved past mid-ice. Kenny Jönsson while with Rögle BK as an elder statesman also got accused of doing this same thing.

 

[Gambitman]

It’s funny even though I am not a big fan of Lindros he still represents one of the biggest might have beens in hockey.

When I think of him I think of the 91 Canada Cup. I mean he had never played an NHL game, he is 18 and Keenean (I think) puts him on an NHL all star team and he wasn’t out of place. As a matter of fact I don’t remember it being all that controversial, it was generally agreed that he deserved to be there.

 

[tony d]

Lindros was quite the talent for sure. It's to bad he had so many injuries in his career. If not for those he's one of the top 5-10 players in NHL history IMO.

 

[daver]

Lindros was quite the talent for sure. It's to bad he had so many injuries in his career. If not for those he's one of the top 5-10 players in NHL history IMO.

How many of those injuries are attributed to him having to use his physicality to boost his offensive production? Once he toned down the physicality by necessity later in his career, his offense regressed significantly.

Unlike Howe whose physicality complimented his offensive game.

Top 5 -10 prospect/talent at the time? Sure. In retrospect, not so sure.

 

[Conbon]

Anyone can ask to play all 60 minutes in a hockey game. Heck, anyone can ask anything.

Sometimes these stories about Chara gets an air of urban myths, like the one where he speaks 7 languages fluently (I still haven't heard him speak Swedish, he did English interviews while playing for a few months with Färjestad).

I'll say though that this isn't meant as a Chara bashing post at all, I agree he's probably up there among the top ever, but as an athlete in general with his background in wrestling, not as a hockey player.

Did people actually see Chara the raw hockey product? It looked like the Eiffel Tower had just decided to put on a pair of skates and tried its way out on the frozen Seine on a particularly cold winters day. Stiff. Then he fought his way up the WHL and the AHL, and the rest is history as they say.

By the way, if Chara (or anyone else) actually tried to play all 60 minutes in a game today they would probably have to cheat a bit on the defensive side of the puck. Like reverse floating. US HHOF member Coddy Winters got accused of doing this by the University of Ottawa while Winters played with Cleveland, they said he very seldom moved past mid-ice. Kenny Jönsson while with Rögle BK as an elder statesman also got accused of doing this same thing.

I'd be inclined to believe a quote from someone who was directly associated with him at the time.

"During the 2005-–06 season, his last in Ottawa before signing with Boston, Chara approached the Senators coaching staff with an unprecedented proposal: He wanted to play an entire game. Sixty minutes. No joke. “He was serious about it, for sure,” former assistant John Paddock says. “We all agreed that he could’ve done it.”"

https://www.si.com/nhl/2018/04/04/zdeno-chara-boston-bruins-playoffs

Were talking the greatest athlete or most imposing talent, not best hockey player who is also big, so I fail to see how Chara growing into his body in his early years has any bearing on this.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

no i don't think we'll see an eric lindros again. partially because the size advantage lindros had over his peers when he entered the league would be like if anthony mason entered the NHL. for reference, anthony mason was 6'7, played at 250 lbs, and looked like this

lindros was was just this huge guy built like a hummer.

i remember when i was a kid i met shawn antoski, a fourth line goon the canucks had drafted in the first round with tkachuk on the board.

he was the biggest person i'd ever seen. and he was all muscles—he literally looked like he should be the final boss in a jean-claude van damme movie. and i remember thinking, jesus christ this is the body eric lindros has only he's also as good if not better at hockey as steve yzerman (we can debate whether that is true, but that was the thinking at the time).

but really the thing that is so unprecedented and unrepeatable about lindros though is not just that he was bigger and stronger than everyone. guys grow, guys get stronger as they get older, for example teenage chris pronger wasn't nearly as scary as mid-career chris pronger. it's that when he was a teenager he already was as big and strong as he would really ever be. which is why in retrospect it was just ridiculous to burn that rookie year. when you are a guy whose competitive advantages are so dependent on physical ability, you have to suspect that you're probably not going to make that year back on the back end of your career.

anyway, the most ridiculous thing about lindros to me was his wrist shot. it was unlike anything i've ever seen. just the amount of power he put into that thing was almost comical, like watching shaq shoot free throws, only if shaq would whip the ball as hard as he could. it was like watching a mythological greek giant effortlessly hurling a cannonball with one of those old world slingshots that's just a rock and a handkerchief.

 

[Retire91]

I would say Lindros is the most capable of playing professional american style football along with professional hockey. He was basically a linebacker that could skate and handle the puck full speed.

There are not too many players in NHL history that could play NFL linebacker. I don't think that size and strength made him the greatest ever though, certainly one of the most unique. Imagine combining Dustin Byfuglien's size with Patrick Kane's mobility and skill.

 

[barabas21]

How many of those injuries are attributed to him having to use his physicality to boost his offensive production? Once he toned down the physicality by necessity later in his career, his offense regressed significantly.

Unlike Howe whose physicality complimented his offensive game.

Top 5 -10 prospect/talent at the time? Sure. In retrospect, not so sure.

I’m sorry but there is no way he was 5-10 top prospect of all time. He was the prospect. Lemieux with a mean streak is what I remember him being described as.

His career didn’t go as planned because of injuries but he arrived in the NHL as advertised, and there has never been a prospect like him.

 

[barabas21]

no i don't think we'll see an eric lindros again. partially because the size advantage lindros had over his peers when he entered the league would be like if anthony mason entered the NHL. for reference, anthony mason was 6'7, played at 250 lbs, and looked like this

lindros was was just this huge guy built like a hummer.

i remember when i was a kid i met shawn antoski, a fourth line goon the canucks had drafted in the first round with tkachuk on the board.

he was the biggest person i'd ever seen. and he was all muscles—he literally looked like he should be the final boss in a jean-claude van damme movie. and i remember thinking, jesus christ this is the body eric lindros has only he's also as good if not better at hockey as steve yzerman (we can debate whether that is true, but that was the thinking at the time).

but really the thing that is so unprecedented and unrepeatable about lindros though is not just that he was bigger and stronger than everyone. guys grow, guys get stronger as they get older, for example teenage chris pronger wasn't nearly as scary as mid-career chris pronger. it's that when he was a teenager he already was as big and strong as he would really ever be. which is why in retrospect it was just ridiculous to burn that rookie year. when you are a guy whose competitive advantages are so dependent on physical ability, you have to suspect that you're probably not going to make that year back on the back end of your career.

anyway, the most ridiculous thing about lindros to me was his wrist shot. it was unlike anything i've ever seen. just the amount of power he put into that thing was almost comical, like watching shaq shoot free throws, only if shaq would whip the ball as hard as he could. it was like watching a mythological greek giant effortlessly hurling a cannonball with one of those old world slingshots that's just a rock and a handkerchief.

I can’t thank your post so here is my thanks. Great recap of Eric and Shawn Antoski as well.

 

[daver]

I’m sorry but there is no way he was 5-10 top prospect of all time. He was the prospect. Lemieux with a mean streak is what I remember him being described as.

His career didn’t go as planned because of injuries but he arrived in the NHL as advertised, and there has never been a prospect like him.

He wasn't close to reaching the offensive dominance that Wayne, Mario and Crosby showed as prospects. A bigger, meaner Howe is more appropriate although he never showed even Howe's level of offense in the NHL.

 

[barabas21]

He wasn't close to reaching the offensive dominance that Wayne, Mario and Crosby showed as prospects. A bigger, meaner Howe is more appropriate although he never showed even Howe's level of offense in the NHL.

Yeah he did, look at his junior numbers he was absolutely dominant. Than look at his first 5 years in the NHL. He was dominant both physically and statistically

 

[Stephen]

He wasn't close to reaching the offensive dominance that Wayne, Mario and Crosby showed as prospects. A bigger, meaner Howe is more appropriate although he never showed even Howe's level of offense in the NHL.

Lindros' OHL draft season was a 2.60 PPG average which is right around what Crosby was doing. Plus it was the OHL, not the 2000s Q.

Whilst in the NHL, Lindros scored 600 points in his first 431 games in his first 7 seasons, which is a 1.39 PPG good for an average of 113 points per 82 games.

Maybe he didn't have the longevity or championship to cement his status as an all-time great but during those years he was utterly dominant.

 

[The Panther]

Yeah, he was a beast. Lindros still had a great HOF career, etc., but I do feel he was uniquely a victim of three things:

-- his size (made him a bit careless with skating through open ice)
-- his parents (taught him he was entitled to be the #1 guy in the world based on having played Junior hockey)
-- the hockey culture of the 80s/early-90s that shaped him (rewarded him for highly risky physical hockey)

If you go back and watch videos, etc., of Lindros when he was just 18 or 19, he comes off as a pretty nice, modest guy, considering his stature. I've never felt he was a bad guy. The problem there was with his parents. Going from Carl & Bonnie to Bobby Clarke was all the mentoring he needed to prematurely end his career.

Young fans today who think McDavid or whoever is over-hyped probably can't imagine what it was like with Lindros in 1991-1993. Here he is on Arsenio Hall in 1993... this is after his rookie season!:


Arsenio points out that Lindros is not only the new hockey hype, but was named one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People.... Can't make this stuff up!

 

[bobbyking]

Dustin buff would've ended him real quick