Lindros’ impact short but mightily significant in the history of hockey
By Will MacLaren
Eric Lindros ranks no. 7 on the CHL’s Top 50 Players of the Last 50 Years
It takes just one hand – and even then, not every finger – to count the number of players who passed through the CHL with the prestige and hype of Eric Lindros. The first player to truly challenge the pros for space in the headlines while still plying his trade for the Oshawa Generals, Lindros didn’t so much star during his junior days as he did impose his will.
Making his way to Oshawa after a deal with Sault Ste. Marie, who originally made Lindros the top choice in the 1989 OHL Priority Draft, Lindros hit the ground, and the opposition, at top speed. Joining the Gens midway through the 1989-90 season, he truly hit his stride during the postseason, leading the OHL in both goals and penalty minutes, winning a league title, and helping guide Oshawa to a dramatic double overtime triumph over Kitchener to claim the Memorial Cup, the city’s first title since 1944. Lindros posted nine assists in four tournament games.
The following year was a season seldom seen from any player at any level. Lindros led the league in goals (71) and points (149) to claim both OHL and CHL Player of the Year honours. He also helped lead Team Canada to a gold medal performance at the 1991 World Junior Hockey Championship, where he was named to the tournament All-Star Team as well as the event’s top forward. Though the Generals would fall to the Greyhounds in the OHL Final that spring, Lindros still led the league in postseason goals, points and penalty minutes; literally, a man among boys. There was no doubt he would hear his name called first at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.
The Quebec Nordiques did just that. However, it would take a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers the following year to coax Lindros into the NHL. When he arrived, he did do with a bang, earning a spot on the 1993 NHL All-Rookie Team. Dubbed “The Next One” by fans and media, Lindros proved to be just that early on with the Flyers, posting four 40-goal campaigns in his first six NHL seasons and capturing the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 1995. He would lead the league in playoff points in 1997 as the Flyers marched to the Stanley Cup Final. On the international stage, Lindros appeared at three Olympic Games, winning silver in 1992 and gold in 2002.
As the years rolled along, injuries began to take their toll on Lindros, his final five NHL seasons divided between three different teams before his retirement in 2007. He would earn induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016. A rare combination of size and skill, “The Big E” was one CHL alumni that was truly larger than life.
