Eric Lindros Calls it a Career

by Jes


With Eric "The Big Ego" Lindros announcing his retirement, the sticks and stones are being flung around the hockeysphere left and right about the career of the polarizing centerman.

Over at The FanHouse, I muse about how Lindros changed the game. As much of a douche as Lindros is/was, we all know that he and his style of play had a profound impact on the NHL.

For worse, teams decided to load up on big slugs and SIZE, over skill and speed. Before Lindros, Cam Neely and Mark Messier were your basic power forwards, and most players were prized for their skills rather than their brute strength. Once Lindros came on the scene, it was all about BIGGER is BETTER, and teams skipped over skilled, smaller players to draft slugs like Brett Lindros, Chris Wells, etc etc ... Thankfully, after being smacked upside the head a few times, teams realized that players like Martin St. Louis are hella valuable and now NHL clubs are focused more on skill than pure size.

So, is Eric worthy for the Hall of Fame? My own preference would be 'YES', but that is without fully examining his case. I believe the effect Lindros had on the game trumps his final numbers and lack of any Stanley Cup success.

Over at The Daily Examiner, one scribe relays a story about Lindros and his habit of 'peeking'

The bathroom was relatively crowded — in fact there were only two side-by-side urinals available. I took my urinal just like I would if I didn’t think the number one pick in 1991’s NHL Entry Draft was about to take the next one.

The first thing I noticed, upon seeing Lindros in person standing, was that he was taller (and skinnier) than I expected. I guess height helps in hockey because it allows you to see things from a less obstructed perspective.

As I did my thing, I felt something bearing down on me from an unobstructed perspective. It was Lindros, and, yes, he was sneaking a peek

Eeepp O.o