Eric LINDROS

One of the most well-known names in ice hockey, centre Eric Lindros gained a reputation for talent early in life as a member of the junior B St. Michael’s Buzzers from 1988-1989. He was drafted by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the junior A Ontario Hockey League the following year, but he refused to report to the team, instead playing for the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors of the North American Hockey League. The Greyhounds traded him to the OHL’s Oshawa Generals in 1990 and he skated with the team until 1992, earning the Memorial Cup, given annually to the junior men’s ice hockey champions in Canada, in 1990. During that time he also suited up for three Junior World Championships and won gold medals with Canada in 1990 and 1991. He was Player of the Year in 1991 and led the league with 149 points in the regular season, repeating the feat at that year’s World Championships with 11 goals in 7 games. He was recruited by the National Hockey League’s Quebec Nordiques in 1991, but again refused to suit up for the team. During the season he was selected to help represent Canada at the 1992 Winter Olympics, where he played in eight games, scored four goals, and took home a silver medal, his country’s first Olympic podium finish in the sport since 1968. After the tournament he was traded to the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers and played his first games in the league during the 1992-1993 season.

Lindros did not disappoint, setting a club scoring record in his first season and winning the Hart Trophy, as well as the Lester B. Pearson Trophy, as league MVP. He captained the team for the 1995-1996 season and made an appearance at the 1997 World Championships, helping Canada win one of only two gold medals at the tournament that it had earned since 1961. His next stop was the 1998 Winter Olympics, where he was captain of that year’s silver medal-winning team, and he scored two goals in six games. He stuck with the Flyers (winning team MVP in 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1999) until 2001, at which point a series of injuries saw him traded to the NHL’s New York Rangers. He suited up for the team until 2004 and helped win Canada’s first Olympic gold medal in ice hockey in five decades at the 2002 Winter Olympics. At the tournament he played in six games and scored one goal. He resurfaced with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs after the 2004-2005 league lockout, but injuries cut short his season, and he announced his retirement in 2007, after a final NHL tenure with the Dallas Stars. He was named ombudsman for the NHL Players Association in November 2007, but resigned from the position in February 2009. His number (88) was retired by the Oshawa Generals.