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The Boston Bruins have signed veteran Stephane Yelle to a one year deal. Great move there.
Just a quick update...Schneider update coming tonight
From earlier today:
There is a reason Eric Lindros won't be at the Spectrum and it is not ours to judge. People are trying to make more out of this than there is.
There was a four letter word around the Flyers for some time...E R I C...but that feud is fading now...
I am not going to take sides on this issue simply because it wouldn't be fair. It is safe to say that both the Lindros Camp and the Flyers Camp felt wronged by much of what went down and while some of that has made it out, believe me when I say that MOST of what went down will never and probably SHOULD NEVER be public.
I am also not blaming either side here. The Flyers invested a ton in Eric and Eric gave a ton back. All the other stuff is between the two sides and from what I have seen there are too many open wounds to expect complete healing at this point. Mistakes were definitely made and much could have been done differently.
However, that was all off the ice stuff, and frankly unless you were part of it, why would you even care about it?
He was my favorite player during his era in Philly, and I still feel along with Peter Forsberg, Bobby Clarke, Mark Howe, and Bernie Parent, Eric Lindros was the most talented player to ever wear the Orange and Black. He was a joy to watch every game, every shift.
How do you know a player is a notch above? It's simple. When you are aware of when his shifts are coming up during a game. That is the judge for me, and for his entire career in Philly...I waited for every shift.
His popularity was incredibly wide-spread in this town. You could probably combine the jersey sales of every Flyer since and they would not amount to the total number of #88 jerseys sold during his career in Philadelphia. That would just be my guess.
So based on his on ice performance it always gnawed at me that the Flyers rarely included him in any highlight packages that played on the big screen, until last year when time's healing hand appeared to be loosening...
About two-thirds the way through last season the Flyers started to play a montage of big goals in Flyers History that included #88 and Bob Clarke went on TSN and said he believed Eric Lindros belonged in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
And just this past month the Flyers invited #88 to attend a team event at the old Spectrum featuring all of the captains in Flyers history. A very appropriate thing to do for the player that probably singlehandedly helped the franchise leave the Spectrum in the first place by being the central marketing product to sell suites in the new building. A building Ed Snider built with his own money...Maybe the last of its kind that didn't tax the community.
It has been a slow softening towards Eric, but a welcomed one for most Flyers fans. After all, the biggest part of this history that most Flyers fans know and remember is mostly positive memories of games where he dominated unlike anyone we had ever seen.
Unfortunately Eric can't attend this event, and I really hope that this doesn't end the healing process between these two parties. I must admit at first that I was a bit upset that he wouldn't come to such an event, until I found out why.
It was reported on TSN a few days back that is was due to a prior commitment, and that makes it sound pretty cold on Eric's part. The local radio stations here have been swarmed with callers upset that Eric won't show.
So I asked for more info from the NHLPA and I got this back from Eric....
"I have informed the Philadelphia Flyers that I'm unfortunately unable to attend the ceremony at the Spectrum because I will be attending a memorial service for my close friend's mother who recently passed away. The Spectrum holds many special memories for me and I always enjoyed playing there in front of the great Flyers fans."
So there it is.
That's a whole lot easier to swallow, and goes directly to what I feel is one of Eric's strengths which at times has been seen as a weakness.
Family and close friends are EVERYTHING to Eric Lindros.
As a young captain of the Flyers he may have been miscast a bit due to his on-ice presence and dominance...Quite simply Lindros' personality was never that of a group leader or really a true "captain." Ask any NHL player who has played with Eric, even in his last season with the Stars, and you will inevitably get this same response...
"He was a great teammate. One of the best ever. He really cared deeply about you."
I have heard this time and time again. One on one he is outstanding, but in groups he is much quieter. It's just his personality and it will serve him well in his role at the NHLPA.
About the closest most of us ever saw Eric connecting to a group was his speech when he won the Hart Trophy where he more or less apologized to the fans for not winning the Stanley Cup. It was a defining moment where we saw a bit more of him than he probably even wanted to let out when he promised the fans that he could do better.
That was when you saw that this was a guy who cared deeply.
And that is why Eric unfortunately won't be at the Spectrum. His friend whose mother died is a VERY close friend.
As Flyers fans it stinks that he won't be attending. It would be an amazing thing to see #88 in orange again, but I certainly will not judge him given the circumstance.
I really hope that one day we can see a video like this one on the big board, because it really puts it best when it comes to what this player meant to fans in Philly:
Rumours to come...
Just a quick update...Schneider update coming tonight
From earlier today:
There is a reason Eric Lindros won't be at the Spectrum and it is not ours to judge. People are trying to make more out of this than there is.
There was a four letter word around the Flyers for some time...E R I C...but that feud is fading now...
I am not going to take sides on this issue simply because it wouldn't be fair. It is safe to say that both the Lindros Camp and the Flyers Camp felt wronged by much of what went down and while some of that has made it out, believe me when I say that MOST of what went down will never and probably SHOULD NEVER be public.
I am also not blaming either side here. The Flyers invested a ton in Eric and Eric gave a ton back. All the other stuff is between the two sides and from what I have seen there are too many open wounds to expect complete healing at this point. Mistakes were definitely made and much could have been done differently.
However, that was all off the ice stuff, and frankly unless you were part of it, why would you even care about it?
He was my favorite player during his era in Philly, and I still feel along with Peter Forsberg, Bobby Clarke, Mark Howe, and Bernie Parent, Eric Lindros was the most talented player to ever wear the Orange and Black. He was a joy to watch every game, every shift.
How do you know a player is a notch above? It's simple. When you are aware of when his shifts are coming up during a game. That is the judge for me, and for his entire career in Philly...I waited for every shift.
His popularity was incredibly wide-spread in this town. You could probably combine the jersey sales of every Flyer since and they would not amount to the total number of #88 jerseys sold during his career in Philadelphia. That would just be my guess.
So based on his on ice performance it always gnawed at me that the Flyers rarely included him in any highlight packages that played on the big screen, until last year when time's healing hand appeared to be loosening...
About two-thirds the way through last season the Flyers started to play a montage of big goals in Flyers History that included #88 and Bob Clarke went on TSN and said he believed Eric Lindros belonged in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
And just this past month the Flyers invited #88 to attend a team event at the old Spectrum featuring all of the captains in Flyers history. A very appropriate thing to do for the player that probably singlehandedly helped the franchise leave the Spectrum in the first place by being the central marketing product to sell suites in the new building. A building Ed Snider built with his own money...Maybe the last of its kind that didn't tax the community.
It has been a slow softening towards Eric, but a welcomed one for most Flyers fans. After all, the biggest part of this history that most Flyers fans know and remember is mostly positive memories of games where he dominated unlike anyone we had ever seen.
Unfortunately Eric can't attend this event, and I really hope that this doesn't end the healing process between these two parties. I must admit at first that I was a bit upset that he wouldn't come to such an event, until I found out why.
It was reported on TSN a few days back that is was due to a prior commitment, and that makes it sound pretty cold on Eric's part. The local radio stations here have been swarmed with callers upset that Eric won't show.
So I asked for more info from the NHLPA and I got this back from Eric....
"I have informed the Philadelphia Flyers that I'm unfortunately unable to attend the ceremony at the Spectrum because I will be attending a memorial service for my close friend's mother who recently passed away. The Spectrum holds many special memories for me and I always enjoyed playing there in front of the great Flyers fans."
So there it is.
That's a whole lot easier to swallow, and goes directly to what I feel is one of Eric's strengths which at times has been seen as a weakness.
Family and close friends are EVERYTHING to Eric Lindros.
As a young captain of the Flyers he may have been miscast a bit due to his on-ice presence and dominance...Quite simply Lindros' personality was never that of a group leader or really a true "captain." Ask any NHL player who has played with Eric, even in his last season with the Stars, and you will inevitably get this same response...
"He was a great teammate. One of the best ever. He really cared deeply about you."
I have heard this time and time again. One on one he is outstanding, but in groups he is much quieter. It's just his personality and it will serve him well in his role at the NHLPA.
About the closest most of us ever saw Eric connecting to a group was his speech when he won the Hart Trophy where he more or less apologized to the fans for not winning the Stanley Cup. It was a defining moment where we saw a bit more of him than he probably even wanted to let out when he promised the fans that he could do better.
That was when you saw that this was a guy who cared deeply.
And that is why Eric unfortunately won't be at the Spectrum. His friend whose mother died is a VERY close friend.
As Flyers fans it stinks that he won't be attending. It would be an amazing thing to see #88 in orange again, but I certainly will not judge him given the circumstance.
I really hope that one day we can see a video like this one on the big board, because it really puts it best when it comes to what this player meant to fans in Philly:
Rumours to come...
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