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No Holding Back

Like the Flyers, these NHL experts would have let Eric Lindros

By Kostya Kennedy

Issue date: June 5, 2000

On the day before Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals last week, SI polled a total of nine NHL coaches, general managers and scouts on whether they would have played Eric Lindros, who had just been cleared by his personal physician to return despite having suffered five concussions in his career. Eight of those polled said yes. "You have to play him," said an Eastern Conference general manager. "How can you not play a guy who will run people over to go to the net and score? How can you not play someone with a shot like his?"

Lindros's return belongs in the pantheon of courageous comebacks: He played for the first time in two months, less than three weeks after sustaining his latest concussion, in practice. And he played even though he could have become a restricted free agent likely to command an $8.5 million salary this summer. The gamble did not pay off. Lindros was the Flyers' best forward and scored their goal in a 2-1 loss to the Devils in Game 6, but in the first period of Game 7 last Friday, another 2-1 defeat, he absorbed a ferocious, clean open-ice hit from New Jersey defenseman Scott Stevens. As Lindros lay on the ice curled in a fetal position, his mouth hanging open after another concussion, the stunned crowd knew it might have seen him play his last game. "He showed a lot by coming back," says Devils defenseman Ken Daneyko. "You hope his career isn't over."

The series of concussions has left Lindros more prone to head injuries and at ever greater risk of suffering permanent brain damage. Lindros should follow the lead of his brother, Brett, who retired from the NHL in May 1996 following his own string of concussions. At week's end Eric had not commented on his future.

If he retires, Lindros will leave legions of fans wondering what might have been had he not come back so quickly. Before his return Lindros said he anticipated that the Devils would play physically against him, and New Jersey forward Bobby Holik said that Lindros would be "fair game" on the ice. "What happened is very unfortunate, but it's part of hockey," Devils coach Larry Robinson said after Game 7. "We weren't the ones who brought him back to play at this time."

True, but when asked if he would have played Lindros, Robinson said, "Probably."

Issue date: June 5, 2000

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