Scary business

Sporting News, The, Dec 11, 2000 by Larry Wigge

Eric Lindros has seen what concussions can do--his brother retired at 20 because of them--but the Big E wants to play again.

Brett Lindros once kidded his older brother, Eric, that he should wear nothing but black, break all the rules in the game and be known as the baddest dude in hockey history.

Eric Lindros definitely has proved to be a rebel. But after suffering six concussions in a 27-month span, the 27-year-old center's career--he once was the most formidable force in hockey--is filled with question marks as he looks for a fresh start in a city not called Philadelphia.

Lindros, a restricted free agent, was given the green light to play on November 27 by Chicago-based neurologist James Kelly. But the hang-up is that Flyers G.M. Bobby Clarke says he wants full value for Lindros--a former No. 1 draft pick and league MVP--even though Lindros' career could end with one more collision.

"If Eric Lindros is a healthy hockey player, as Dr. Kelly apparently has said, then he is one of the top players in the game, and we expect to be compensated accordingly," Clarke said at a press conference last week. "I'm not going to rent him out for draft choices and prospects. I have to do what's best for the Flyers, not make a deal just to satisfy Eric. He's the one who walked out on us."

The jersey and helmet Lindros now wears are plain white--not the black suggested by his brother--as he works out with friends at Toronto's York University. Lindros, who is living in a friend's spare room, pays for the ice time.

"A team taking me is going to have to make a big gamble, everyone knows that," Lindros says. "Some say I could be done with one more big hit. But I don't look at it that way. The last couple of months have been really good, not only from a physical standpoint, but from a mental standpoint. Hockey is a very important part of my life. I've been playing for a long, long time, and it is a big void when you are not doing it."

Former and current players who have been affected by concussions are telling Lindros to weigh his options carefully.

Kings G.M. Dave Taylor had his career ended by a concussion and now serves on committees to improve helmets and make mouthpieces essential and to study the effect of seamless glass on the number of concussions. He says one or two players from each team has had some form of concussion. "I remember I had trouble remembering things, even easy things like my phone number," Taylor says. "That's how bad it can get."

Adds Avalanche center Joe Sakic: "My first few years as a pro, you never even thought about it. You'd get knocked out big and then you would be right back at it in a few days. Now everyone realizes how serious it is."

Former Blues left winger Geoff Courtnall had similar sentiments. "The doctors told me if I get any more damage to my brain, I might not live," says Courtnall, who retired after suffering a concussion. "If Eric Lindros doesn't get up the next time, was it worth the risk?"

Former Maple Leafs winger Nick Kypreos, whose career ended because of a concussion, is one of the players who has been working out with Lindros in Toronto. "I've told Eric I don't want to see him get hurt," he says. "But if he can't take a hit and we need to see this hunk of a man carried off the ice again, I want him to retire."

Former Islanders defenseman Dennis Vaske, however, brings the issue to a level we can all understand in his comment to Newsday several years ago: "Riding in that ambulance, I thought my head was going to explode."

Lindros, who says he has been free of postconcussion-syndrome symptoms for more than two months, wants to play for the Maple Leafs. Regardless of which team he winds up with, he realizes the questions about his health could push a deal into the new year.

"There is a lot of risk involved, from a medical point of view," Lindros says. "But I've been cleared, and I feel good.

"I wouldn't play again if it meant I could be scarred for life. I saw what Brett went through before he had to retire. I wouldn't put myself or my family through that again."

Postconcussion-syndrome symptoms forced Brett to retire in May 1996 when he was 20 after playing just 51 NHL games for the Islanders.

Eric Lindros has not played since the first period of Game 7 in the Eastern Conference finals, when he was slammed to the ice by a clean hit from defenseman Scott Stevens.

Though Lindros can sign an offer sheet with another team, Clarke and the Flyers have the fight to match. As a result, a trade is his most viable option. Lindros is optimistic.

"I think things are warming up," he told reporters in Toronto.

While some reports speculated about a straight-up deal for Maple Leafs star center Mats Sundin, it is more likely that Clarke will ask for defenseman Tomas Kaberle and young center Nik Antropov. In the end, however, look for the Flyers to get a package that could include Antropov or winger Sergei Berezin and a defenseman like Danny Markov, plus conditional draft choices.

Lindros has scored 659 points in 486 games. That's impressive. But he has played more than 70 games just twice in his eight-year NHL career--and the conditional draft picks likely would be based on how many games Lindros plays after a trade is made.