Power play

The day's highlights flash across the screen in a dreary visitor's locker room with hardly a notice. Suddenly Flames Coach Pierre Page is drawn to the television.

"Peter Forsberg scored three goals to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers," the announcer in the TSN studio says.

For a moment, the sight of Forsberg deftly stickhandling around a couple of Flyers and making pinpoint passes comes to life for Page. He was the one, after all, who obtained Forsberg in a controversial June 1992 trade when he was general manager of the Nordiques.

Another highlight flashes on the screen as the announcer says, "And Eric Lindros led the Flyers with two goals."

As he watches Lindros bull over a large Avalanche defender on his way toward the net and a score, Page's eyes open wide.

He is thousands of miles from Philadelphia and that game between Forsberg and Lindros. He is picking up the pieces after his team lost 4-2 in Edmonton. But, for 30 seconds, it is as if he is being transported to the Spectrum and watching those plays come to life.

Page, you see, is forever linked with Lindros and Forsberg. He is the man who drafted Lindros first overall in 1991 and tried everything he could to sign him. After a year of being scorned by Lindros, who refused to play for Nordiques Owner Marcel Aubut, Page was forced to trade the hottest prospect since Mario Lemieux. Lindros was dealt to the Flyers for Ron Hextall, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Mike Ricci, Chris Simon, first-round draft choices in 1993 and '94, $15 million -- and Forsberg.

Even after the highlights on the screen in that dreary visitor's locker room in Edmonton have switched to golf, Page is still talking about Lindros and how there was no way to win that deal. His only objective was to get some kind of decent compensation.

"I told them you will have to break my arm to get me to trade this guy. And they almost did," he says, frustration still coming out of his voice -- even though he no longer works for that organization.

A Gretzky or a Lemieux comes along once every generation; it was obvious Lindros had that same aura. Think about how the guy who picked Steve Chilcott must have felt when he passed on Reggie Jackson, then multiply it 10 thousand times. Everyone knew Lindros was the next megastar.

"Six players, two first-round draft picks and $15 million," Page says. "And the trade still wasn't even. That's how good Eric Lindros is.

"He's the Darth Vader of hockey. I have seen him overpower three guys on the same play and still have enough strength to beat the goaltender. He's untouchable."

Forsberg is as sneaky as a safecracker, the tumblers slowly turning as he surprises the opposition with a goal. Lindros blows the safe wide open with dynamite, no wasted motions when he scores. Those are just the obvious comparisons. The biggest difference comes in examining what a Lindros means to his franchise, how many people he puts in the seats, how many team jerseys he sells and how many games he wins singlehandedly.

In the three-plus seasons that have passed since the trade, it is a guessing game to figure out which team got the best of the deal simply by looking at the standings. But the balancing act always comes down to six bodies vs. one that is 6 feet 4,232 pounds of raw, overpowering talent. And that's why the Flyers will forever have the edge.

The Nordiques were invigorated the first season after the trade, going from last place to second with an impressive 47-27-10 record. The second season, both teams missed the playoffs. Last season, the Flyers made it to the playoffs for the first time in six years, with Lindros leading the way as the league's most valuable player. The Nordiques finished in first place in the Northeast Division, Forsberg winning the NHL's rookie of the year.

The trade ultimately was decided by an arbitrator after Aubut got greedy and attempt a deal with the Rangers after already agreeing to one with the Flyers. But to say a lot has happened since is an understatement. Hextall is back with the Flyers. The Nordiques have become the Colorado Avalanche and only Ricci, Forsberg and Simon remain with the team from the blockbuster deal.

As of last Sunday, the Avalanche are in first place in the Pacific Division and the Flyers are fighting for the top spot in the Atlantic Division with the Rangers and Panthers. But no matter how many players the Flyers gave up, they still got the best of the deal.

"When Eric Lindros comes off the Flyers bench against us, I shake -- every time," Panthers Coach Doug MacLean says. "That doesn't happen with anyone else."

Lindros, 22, is a presence, plain and simple. HE towers over most of the players in the NHL. He's a linebacker against scatbacks -- and still faster than most players his size.

"It's hard to go against Eric Lindros," Canucks General Manager Pat Quinn says. "But you have to remember this was one of those situations you always hate to be put in in this business. Lindros made it perfectly clear he would not play for the Nordiques, so they had to make a trade. But with stakes this big it was more than trading your prize for what's behind Door No. 2.