Why haven't we seen another Eric Lindros?

[Zalos]

Overrated player for the most part.

The people glazing him usually revered him because he was big and mean and could put a lot of points on the board.

He was still in a tier below all of the greats.

Ovechkin deserves "generational" way ahead of Lindros.

 

[Reindl87]

Lemieux was pretty much the same height and almost the same weight as Lindros. Didnt have the same hitting game, but held his own vs big mean guys aswell.

UNLIKE lindros, Lemieux could skate without Looking down on the ice.

 

[Reindl87]

It's such a tired excuse to dismiss the opinion of people who actually saw him play as nostalgia.

Lindros was 6'4" and 240 lbs and an absolute wrecking ball. I guess you could say he and Malkin are similar in that they are skilled and play a physical game, but the physicality and intimidation factor is not even close. Though it really couldn't be in today's league.

There's plenty of videos of his hits, fights and goals, but this one is a decent example of just how strong he was. Imagine a Peter Forsberg who is 4 inches taller and 30+ lbs heavier.

Imagine a Peter Forsberg with 1/10 of the skill Level. Lindros is by far the most overrated Player on here. He totally Dependend on his physicality. Once that Was taken away, he was Nothing. You wont find a single worse skater in todays League. On top of that he was the archetype of the cheap shot bully who turned into the biggest baby when he was treated wichtig his own medicine.
The fact that he was taken as captain for Team Canada in 1998 has to be the biggest Stain on that countries hockey legacy.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

Lindros was like prime Crosby and Lucic mixed together. The odds of that ever happening again are slim to none.

 

[Toby91ca]

Someone tell me how far Byfuglien was from a Lindros.

In terms of skill, you can't compare, it's not close. Including skating.

 

[Toby91ca]

Imagine a Peter Forsberg with 1/10 of the skill Level. Lindros is by far the most overrated Player on here. He totally Dependend on his physicality. Once that Was taken away, he was Nothing. You wont find a single worse skater in todays League. On top of that he was the archetype of the cheap shot bully who turned into the biggest baby when he was treated wichtig his own medicine.
The fact that he was taken as captain for Team Canada in 1998 has to be the biggest Stain on that countries hockey legacy.

You clearly don't like the guy, so significant bias, but ignoring that....."a Peter Forsberg with 1/10 of the skill level"? You either didn't see much of him or are just totally blinded by hate. Lindros is a decent guy now, hasn't always been and his family was a pain, no doubt, but I have no significant bias...wasn't a big hated rival for the most part and I wasn't a fan......Lindros had a ton of skill, it is what truly set him apart and what had scouts drooling when drafted. He was huge.....but countless guys have come through that were huge.....but he also came with that skill and could skate.

 

[aufheben]

There are 34 Canadians in the NFL and over 200 in NCAA Football.

Aren’t there like 72 players on one NFL team?

 

[PB37]

Imagine a Peter Forsberg with 1/10 of the skill Level. Lindros is by far the most overrated Player on here. He totally Dependend on his physicality. Once that Was taken away, he was Nothing. You wont find a single worse skater in todays League. On top of that he was the archetype of the cheap shot bully who turned into the biggest baby when he was treated wichtig his own medicine.
The fact that he was taken as captain for Team Canada in 1998 has to be the biggest Stain on that countries hockey legacy.

You are severally underrating Lindros' skill package to support your opinion.

 

[PB37]

Lindros was a unicorn, plain and simple. A fantasy player you only get to build in video games. He just lacked certain fundamentals and a proper sense of taking care of his body. He probably felt invincible because of his frame and stature and that did him in. He is the NHL's Titanic story. Deemed unsinkable but before his career was well underway it was already sinking.

Edit: Also fastest to 500 points after Gretzky, Lemieux, Stastny and Bossy. Faster than Crosby, McDavid and Ovi. Nothing to scoff at and paints a different picture than just points finishes.

I've called Lindros a generational talent before but I understand if some people think it comes with an asterisk because of his style robbing his body from reaching it's full potential and thus, comes up a bit short with the overall point totals and accolades. I still think he makes the cut as a generational player: the pre NHL hype, skill package, unicorn status are all there and the limited results of what he did in the NHL in his prime are impressive enough.

 

[Reindl87]

You clearly don't like the guy, so significant bias, but ignoring that....."a Peter Forsberg with 1/10 of the skill level"? You either didn't see much of him or are just totally blinded by hate. Lindros is a decent guy now, hasn't always been and his family was a pain, no doubt, but I have no significant bias...wasn't a big hated rival for the most part and I wasn't a fan......Lindros had a ton of skill, it is what truly set him apart and what had scouts drooling when drafted. He was huge.....but countless guys have come through that were huge.....but he also came with that skill and could skate.

He could only skate with his head down. It doesnt matter What he is now, in his playing days he was a fake Tough guy Baby bully.

 

[Toby91ca]

He could only skate with his head down. It doesnt matter What he is now, in his playing days he was a fake Tough guy Baby bully.

Look, he was not my favourite player at all, but there was also no denying the ability. Not even sure skating with head down was the biggest problem....I think he skated with his head up, it's when the puck would bobble or go somewhere he didn't want, he looked down for it. The big problem is that he didn't have to really worry about any of that until he got to the NHL....until then he was basically a man playing against boys that really couldn't do much physically with him. Because that was the case, he never learned how to protect himself. It wasn't just that though, his own aggressive play against others put his body at harm.

The last thing is simple genetics as well. Two different people can take the exact head contact (force/placement, etc.) and it simply does not have the same impact on one person as the other. I'm not sure why, but that exists. Eric's younger brother retired long before Lindros for concussions. Style of play for him was a big factor as well though.

 

[RorschachWJK]

Great player for sure. And totally unique. Never say never but I think the odds of seeing something like him again are very slim. Was one of my favorite players at the time.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Great player for sure. And totally unique. Never say never but I think the odds of seeing something like him again are very slim. Was one of my favorite players at the time.

What made him so uniquely different Than Ovechkin?
OV literally does everything better than Lindros ever could?

Aside from Lindros doing arm-bars elbows, and cheapshots, Ovechkin hit HARD and more often and had better skill and anticipation. OV frequently lead the league in hits and goals.


Seriously, watch a hitting compilation of Lindros, then one of Ovechkin and honestly tell me Lindros was more physical.



Scoring is OV. Speed is OV. Physicality is OV. Hockey IQ is OV. Keeping his head up is OV. creativity is OV. Shot is OV. Skill is OV. Winning is OV. Hardware belongs to OV.

Tale of the tape is Lindros had 1 more inch, while OV had 8 more lbs.

I think there can be legitimate argument that Lindros played against shorter, slower, and smaller players, but OV was basically MUCH better Lindros at everything.

 

[Crow]

Ovechkin got flattened by Rasmus Ristolainen, when it was Ovechkin that charged towards Risto.

Players literally FLEW when Lindros hit them. Both skates left the ground and landed 5-7 feet from initial contact.



Check the hit starting at 1:05

I find that video pretty underwhelming. Don’t remember watching him too much as a kid.

That’s his highlights? A bunch of cheap shots and push punches to the face? A couple clean hits?

Maybe the video just leaves something to be desired.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

I find that video pretty underwhelming. Don’t remember watching him too much as a kid.

That’s his highlights? A bunch of cheap shots and push punches to the face? A couple clean hits?

Maybe the video just leaves something to be desired.

Right??


That video is all in slow motion. and showing Lindros sucker-punching unsuspecting players, blindside headshots (karma), and running over players nowhere near the puck, and hitting goalies.

That's not being tough, that's being a p***y ass bitch.


Compare it with a video of Ovechkin actually laying out REAL hits.
That hit OV had on Jagr in 2010 was something Lindros could never do. Hit a player with the puck by anticipating and watching the lanes open up:


OV's hitting video is legitimate hits by using his on-ice awareness, speed, and size.