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Hitting a snag Lindros-to-Leafs deal still being worked
By Lance Hornby and Scott Morrison, SLAM! Sports A blue and white No. 88 Eric Lindros sweater was on display at an Air Canada Centre store Monday night, but fantasy and reality won't be sorted out until at least Tuesday. The much-anticipated Lindros trade has hit a snag but not enough to kill a deal with the Maple Leafs. Yet. "It's a problem that has to work its way through," general manager/ coach Pat Quinn said last night. "I can't say there is a timeline. We'll do our best to resolve it." The basic framework of a five-year, $45 million contract with Lindros is ready, though not finalized or signed, and it was presented to the board of directors of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. Monday night. Asked about a deal when the board meeting ended, club chairman Steve Stavro said, "Not yet ... it's still up to Ken [club president Dryden] and Pat. We hope [it will be done] shortly, either way." "There's a good chance everything will get done [Tuesday]," a source said. "But it's not done by a long shot." The problem is not with the Lindros camp but with the components of the trade. It has been learned that the deal consists of the Leafs sending two players, believed to be Nik Antropov and Danny Markov, to the Philadelphia Flyers for the restricted free-agent center. The third element would be a draft pick, believed to be as high as a first-rounder. However, there is talk the Leafs want to send a draft pick or picks contingent on the number of games Lindros plays. If Lindros doesn't reach a specific number of games because of injury -- he hasn't played since last May when he suffered his sixth concussion in 27 months -- the Flyers would have to send a pick or picks to the Leafs. The quality of the picks also might hinge on the players involved. "There are contingencies in the deal still to be worked out," a source said. There has been speculation the Flyers are insisting on the inclusion of Tomas Kaberle in the deal in place of Markov, who has a back injury and has missed eight games in a row. Markov is skating on his own and Monday night listed himself as a week or two away from playing, which could account for the shifting deadline. "If I know Pat Quinn," an NHL GM said, "he will not want to trade Kaberle." Indeed, neither Antropov nor Markov dressed for the Leafs Monday night, while Kaberle did play. Flyers general manager Bob Clarke said no deal would be made for any player without complete medical records and a chance for his club's doctors to review them. At one stage Monday, a trade announcement by the Leafs was set for this morning, which could still happen. But details were yet to be agreed upon, likely involving the "risk" factor attached to the draft picks. Meanwhile, some say that either Clarke threw a late-breaking curve by insisting on Kaberle, or the Leafs substituted Markov knowing full well the Flyers' expectations. "Nothing has changed in our opinion," Clarke told the Philly media last night. "I wouldn't say who we're getting or who we're after." There is speculation the Flyers are insisting on Kaberle to use as bait in a trade for Los Angeles Kings defenseman Rob Blake and that the Leafs are hanging on to their top offensive defenseman for the same reason. Blake left the Kings in Edmonton Monday, but it was for family reasons in L.A. There was speculation that Quinn might have presented the MLSEL board with the terms of a second deal Monday night, though that is unconfirmed. Ace Bailey, the Kings director of pro scouting, was in the pressbox in Philadelphia last night, while Kings scout Rob Laird was at the Air Canada Centre. Two Anaheim Mighty Ducks scouts, Neil Smith and Tom Watt, were also in Toronto. Last night's visitors, the New Jersey Devils, are Blake contenders, too. Phoenix Coyotes GM Cliff Fletcher said last night he has not spoken to the Flyers about a rumored deal involving the Coyotes' Keith Tkachuk. Gordon Kirke, the Lindros family lawyer, last night repeated that the various clauses in a Lindros contract, such as a lower base salary and deferred payments tied to games played, would not be hard to work out once the player portion of the deal is completed. The deal would have to be approved by the NHL. "There could be complications that would have to be approved by the league," Kirke said. 
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