Story about Lindros, including his time in Blue

[eco's bones]

I did NOT go out of my way to "invent" penalties on Lindros — or any player — but I wasn't going to give that guy a break on anything borderline that I might have let slide with a player who had gained acceptability with me.

This is why i hate refs. he needs players to "gain his acceptance?" really? These failed-players think they are the gatekeeper to the game.

Stewart was a 'look at me' kind of referee. He was always an attention seeker. He was a failed WHA player. He'd played a handful of NHL games. Pretty much a goon as a player. When he became a ref he always wanted to be noticed. It took a few years to work that out of his system. He got better gradually--he was never great. Some never improve and stick around. Some do get better. It's really a mixed bag and from one game to the next you don't what you're getting. One guy calls this--another guy calls that. The same guy will call everything one game and let everything go the next. Or he'll call everything in the first two periods and call nothing--no matter what in the third. Or vice versa. Nothing at the start and anything at the end. One guy will try to even things up--either on calls or breaks to the team that's behind. Your team will benefit at times and get ****ed over at others but timing is important--you might get the benefit in a December game and get screwed royally in June. Everything evens out in the end some will say--but getting screwed in the middle of June--there's no way of evening that.

 

[bobbop]

I got to know Lindros' parents a little when I lived in Philadelphia and I thought his father was a real nice guy but his mother wore the pants in the family.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Good post.

The bolded is actually interesting to think about.

Messier idolized Bobby Clarke, Lindros idolized Messier, and Clarke effectively had a huge hand in destroying his career.

Messier was the only guy Lindros had any respect for at that stage of his career. Theres a belief that Clarke made Lindros captain of the 1998 Olympic Team to drive a wedge and make everybody hate him.

Graves-Messier-Gartner
Zamuner/Bourque-Lindros-Kocur
Nemchinov-Turcotte-Broten
King-Gilhen-Domi

Leetch-Beukeboom
Hardy-Zubov
Wells-Cirella

Had the trade gone down, that would have been your opening night lineup in 1992-93. Yeesh.

Reports differ. Some say it was Beezer or Richter, Patrick, Amonte or Weight, Kovalev or Nemchinov and firsts in 1993, 1995 and 1996 plus 15-20 million.

The best guess was Beezer, Amonte, Weight, Patrick, Kovalev, three 1sts and 15 million, but execs wt the Garden delayed in making a decision. While they waited, Russ Farwell cut the first deal with Aubut, then Aubut contacted Smith to counter.

In retrospect, that non-trade won them the Cup. No Weight meant no Tikkanen. No Amonte meant no Matteau and Noonan. No Beezer meant no Lidster. No Patrick meant no Larmer.

That trade would have gutted everything. The Rangers had nothing left. The 1989 draft was ruined by the Nicholls trade. Stewart was a bust. Amonte and Mallette from 1988 were traded. Binghamton were all veterans. Plus no 1sts (not that Smith did anything with them)

Their best prospects if the trade went down were Per Djoos, Corey Hirsch and Steven "Creepshow" King.

 

[Fletch]

Messier idolized Bobby Clarke, Lindros idolized Messier, and Clarke effectively had a huge hand in destroying his career.

Messier was the only guy Lindros had any respect for at that stage of his career. Theres a belief that Clarke made Lindros captain of the 1998 Olympic Team to drive a wedge and make everybody hate him.

Graves-Messier-Gartner
Zamuner/Bourque-Lindros-Kocur
Nemchinov-Turcotte-Broten
King-Gilhen-Domi

Leetch-Beukeboom
Hardy-Zubov
Wells-Cirella

Had the trade gone down, that would have been your opening night lineup in 1992-93. Yeesh.

Reports differ. Some say it was Beezer or Richter, Patrick, Amonte or Weight, Kovalev or Nemchinov and firsts in 1993, 1995 and 1996 plus 15-20 million.

The best guess was Beezer, Amonte, Weight, Patrick, Kovalev, three 1sts and 15 million, but execs wt the Garden delayed in making a decision. While they waited, Russ Farwell cut the first deal with Aubut, then Aubut contacted Smith to counter.

In retrospect, that non-trade won them the Cup. No Weight meant no Tikkanen. No Amonte meant no Matteau and Noonan. No Beezer meant no Lidster. No Patrick meant no Larmer.

That trade would have gutted everything. The Rangers had nothing left. The 1989 draft was ruined by the Nicholls trade. Stewart was a bust. Amonte and Mallette from 1988 were traded. Binghamton were all veterans. Plus no 1sts (not that Smith did anything with them)

Their best prospects if the trade went down were Per Djoos, Corey Hirsch and Steven "Creepshow" King.

and no Kovalev meant no Kovalev. At least they'd get to keep Todd Marchant. I was a fan of his during his short time as a Ranger.

 

[Zuccarello Awesome*]

This pretty much sums up Lindros right here. Scott Stevens ended his career. He was never the same after Stevens screwed him up bad in the ECF. Stevens is the only Devil I could ever like.

Except that Stevens was the Mark McGwire of the NHL: blatant steroid user.

 

[Rosalie]

I think the "article" paints Eric in a incomplete manner. Eric was young and dumb at that point in his life but later in his career he became a much more mature and respectful man.

I'm a big fan of him, even though I'm from Québec City and was a fan of the Nordiques. I think that you do things at 18 that you wouldn't do at 40.

 

[Lindberg Cheese]

Stewart was a 'look at me' kind of referee. He was always an attention seeker. He was a failed WHA player. He'd played a handful of NHL games. Pretty much a goon as a player. When he became a ref he always wanted to be noticed. It took a few years to work that out of his system. He got better gradually--he was never great. Some never improve and stick around. Some do get better. It's really a mixed bag and from one game to the next you don't what you're getting. One guy calls this--another guy calls that. The same guy will call everything one game and let everything go the next. Or he'll call everything in the first two periods and call nothing--no matter what in the third. Or vice versa. Nothing at the start and anything at the end. One guy will try to even things up--either on calls or breaks to the team that's behind. Your team will benefit at times and get ****ed over at others but timing is important--you might get the benefit in a December game and get screwed royally in June. Everything evens out in the end some will say--but getting screwed in the middle of June--there's no way of evening that.

I wonder if Stewart was claiming the donations on his personal tax filings?