Pelle Lindbergh

[Analyzer*]

I watched some youtube videos and read some articles. He seemed like the ultimate goalie. Great skill, work ethic and absolutely loved the team he was drafted by.

It's probably been discussed before, but how good could he have been ?

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[kmad]

I would guess he would end up with a legacy about as good as Ed Belfour.

I'm more interested in the causal ramifications of everything that happened in the wake of his death. If not for Lindbergh, Hextall doesn't win a Vezina or a Smythe, and maybe Philly doesn't make the finals in '87. The Forsberg/Lindros trade might not happen (as having a different 1st string goalie would greatly impact the future of the Flyers). Lindros would probably end up a Ranger. Etc.

 

[frontsfan2005]

1986 was probably the Flyers best shot at a cup, since the Oilers went out in the second round against Calgary. Philly went out in the first round, as the Rangers upset them. Froese was outplayed by Vanbiesbrouck by a wide margin, but its hard to say if the Flyers would've won with Lindbergh, since Beezer was dominating in that series (held Philly to two goals in four of the five games).

As Philly struggled in the late 80's and early 90's, I could see them trading Lindbergh away to a team like Toronto, who prehaps would've been more interested in him than Grant Fuhr, who was coming off personal problems at the time, or Detroit, who was ready to become cup contenders, but goaltending was still an issue.

 

[VMBM]

Even though I have been a hockey fan since 1977 or so, the 1st complete game I CLEARLY remember seeing was Sweden vs. Czechoslovakia in the 1980 Winter Olympics. The Czechs dominated (shots 43-26), but Sweden won 4-2, thanks to the 20-year old Lindbergh; he was simply phenomenal in the game. At least one of the goals by Czechoslovakia was quite controversial, as I remember Lindbergh was being held or something while the Czech forward scored. That was about the only way they could score, as he stopped everything that night. I wasn't sure about the game for a long time, but recently I saw highlights of it and now I'm positive that, indeed, it's the Lake Placid game that has stuck in my mind all these years - or rather Lindbergh's performance.
Another thing about him was that he wore that "Jason Voorhees mask" which wasn't that common for European goalies at the time.

But this little piece of nostalgia probably isn't what this thread is about

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

Very real chance he established himself as the best goalie of the late 80's and possibly the whole decade. Before Roy surpasses him in the early 90's. Still in the elite class of the early 90's until style changes led to a massive changing of the guard between '93 and '96.

 

[tony d]

Another great what-if. The guy looked to be turning into something special early on his career. Chances are the Flyers may have won a cup in the 80's. Really sad to see what happened to the guy. Could have been 1 of the all-time greats.

 

[2fast4u2*]

IMO IF he wouldve stayed around,he wouldve probably been at least in top 10 of all time.BUT we will never know,so sad

 

[MXD]

I know that the metric isn't perfect, but Lindberg was outplayed by Bob Froese for pretty much all his career (even during his ... I don't know if Froese only got the start against bad teams, and that Lindberg outplayed him during the playoffs (really small sample size)) but still...

Not mentionning that the Flyers, as a whole, tended to make their goalies look a little better than they actually were during the 80ies. Yeah, Lindberg was really good in the 85 playoffs, but pretty bad in the 83 playoffs (worst than Froese or Peeters ever were, actually). When looking at Lindberg, one must not forget that his 85 run might have the best he could ever be. He was still young in 83, but not that young, in a time when it wasn't uncommon to see 21 years old goaltender play at their top.

In the end, I think it's wrong to class Lindberg as anything else than a "might have been".

 

[MXD]

1986 was probably the Flyers best shot at a cup, since the Oilers went out in the second round against Calgary. Philly went out in the first round, as the Rangers upset them. Froese was outplayed by Vanbiesbrouck by a wide margin, but its hard to say if the Flyers would've won with Lindbergh, since Beezer was dominating in that series (held Philly to two goals in four of the five games).

As Philly struggled in the late 80's and early 90's, I could see them trading Lindbergh away to a team like Toronto, who prehaps would've been more interested in him than Grant Fuhr, who was coming off personal problems at the time, or Detroit, who was ready to become cup contenders, but goaltending was still an issue.

There was one guy, and only one guy, who could've outplayed Vanbiesbrouck that year. And he actually did.

 

[frontsfan2005]

Another great what-if. The guy looked to be turning into something special early on his career. Chances are the Flyers may have won a cup in the 80's. Really sad to see what happened to the guy. Could have been 1 of the all-time greats.

I dont see the Flyers winning a cup in the 80's with Lindbergh there. 1986 was their best chance, but Vanbiesbrouck was playing out of his mind, so Philly still would've been put out by NYR. In 1987, its hard to see Lindbergh putting up better numbers than Hextall, and the Flyers still lost. 1988 with Lindbergh would've been interesting, as Hextall was horrible against the Capitals as the Flyers lost in seven games. If Lindbergh plays up to his 1985 levels, Philly probably beats Washington, and maybe even New Jersey in the next round, but I can't see them beating Boston in the Conference Finals. Even if they did, Edmonton would be waiting for them again.

 

[Analyzer*]

E
Another thing about him was that he wore that "Jason Voorhees mask" which wasn't that common for European goalies at the time.

But this little piece of nostalgia probably isn't what this thread is about

Wikipedia says (I know, it's Wikipedia) that he wore that mask to pay tribute to Bernie Parent who wore it. Says Philadelphia was his favourite team and Parent his favourite player.

What if the Nordiques could have gotten less than they did because Lindbergh could have been better than Hextall at the time. What if it could have saved the Flyers from dealing Forsberg ?

Still a shame, though.

 

[Padan]

Wikipedia says (I know, it's Wikipedia) that he wore that mask to pay tribute to Bernie Parent who wore it. Says Philadelphia was his favourite team and Parent his favourite player.

That is correct. I've read the book "Pelle Lindbergh - behind the white mask" (written by Swedish journalist Thomas Tynander) and Pelle obviously was a huge fan of Bernie Parent.