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Leaf-ed hanging Toronto claims Flyers pulled out of Lindros deal
Updated: Thursday February 22, 2001 12:45 AM
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Eric Lindros remains with a team that doesn't want him and for which he refuses to play. That follows another failure to send the Philadelphia star to Toronto. Toronto general manager and coach Pat Quinn accused the Flyers Wednesday of acting in bad faith by pulling out of a "done deal" in which Philadelphia would get two players and a top draft choice in exchange for Lindros. "We met what they asked for, word for word. ... As far as I'm concerned I'm not going to swap around any more," Quinn said in Toronto. "Even the great Gretzky trade -- the biggest in the league -- never had this kind of thing." But Flyers general manager Bob Clarke said there never was an agreement and that Philadelphia reasonably backed out because of medical concerns about defenseman Danny Markov, who has missed eight games with a back injury. "His interpretation and mine are totally different," Clarke said. "In my mind, we were never close because we hadn't seen medical reports on Markov. We had our doctors review them and they didn't like them." Clarke said Markov might have a herniated disc, and could miss 4-6 weeks. Carl Lindros, Eric's father and agent, had no immediate comment. "I've got to digest what [Quinn] said," he said.
Lindros' lawyer, Gord Kirke, said he wasn't worried about whether an agreement was reached with the Maple Leafs. "Optimism is getting a deal done," Kirke said. "Reality is that Eric always knew that in dealing with the Leafs he could be sitting this year. And sitting this year is not the worst thing for his health." Lindros, 28, has said he only wants to play in Toronto. He rejected an $8.5 million qualifying offer from Philadelphia last summer and said he would not return to the Flyers because of a contentious relationship with Clarke. Lindros has not played since May, when he suffered his sixth concussion in 27 months during a playoff game, and has been skating alone at a suburban arena since being medically cleared in November to resume his career. Quinn said he was so convinced the trade had been set, he was arranging with the league to confirm it. He said the team even reached a contract deal, reportedly $45 million over five years. "I don't like what's gone on," he said. Quinn was angry that names of the players emerged, and he suggested the league look into the matter. "That's a breach of good business manners and that's probably why I'm so angry," Quinn said. There was speculation the Leafs did not want to include young defenseman Tomas Kaberle in a trade for Lindros, a restricted free agent. Also reported in the Leafs' package were Markov, center Nik Antropov and a top draft choice. Clarke said Toronto seemed willing to trade Kaberle, but he said negotiations never reached that point. "He [Quinn] said Markov and Kaberle were equal players in his mind and so we said, 'We'll take the healthy guy,'" Clarke said. "If he wanted to substitute a defenseman [Kaberle] for the injured guy [Markov], we would take it to [team chairman Ed] Snider. But that never happened." Quinn refused to say the Maple Leafs wouldn't try again to get Lindros. "Never say never," Quinn said. But Clarke didn't seem want to deal with Toronto anymore. "If he [Quinn] wants to call us, that's up to him," he said. "We're not calling them. We wish they would just say goodbye, say they don't want Lindros." The Leafs are in a six-game winless slide and have won only nine of their last 31 games. Philadelphia is two points out of first place in the Eastern Conference, has won six straight home games and is 20-7-5 since Bill Barber replaced Craig Ramsay as coach Dec. 10.
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