As a youth, Lindros played in the 1985 and 1987
Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Toronto Marlboros and Toronto Young Nationals
minor ice hockey teams, respectively.
Junior career (1989–1992) As a teenage
power forward playing minor hockey, Lindros became nationally famous both for his scoring feats and his ability to physically dominate players older than himself. He attended Monarch Park and later
North Toronto Collegiate in Toronto. Both Eric and his younger brother Brett (Eric in 1988–89) played for the
Metro Junior "B"'s
St. Michael's Buzzers before moving up to the OHL. Lindros' play made him the most highly valued amateur player in North America and he was often nicknamed "
The Next One", a reference to
Wayne Gretzky's moniker "The Great One." He was also called
"The Big E". scoring 97 goals and 119 assists for 216 career points in 95 games. During the
1990–91 season, Lindros won the
Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as top scorer, the
Red Tilson Trophy as MVP, the
CHL Player of the Year award and the
CHL Top Draft Prospect Award. The Generals returned to the Robertson Cup finals, facing Sault Ste. Marie. The series was one of the more dramatic in OHL history given Lindros' attitude toward the team, with fans from the Soo loudly booing him every time he touched the puck. The Greyhounds upset the heavily favoured defending champions in a six-game series, winning the last game on home ice. On March 6, 2008, the Generals
retired his jersey number 88, the second number to be retired by the franchise, and it was declared Eric Lindros Day in
Oshawa.
1991 NHL entry draft Lindros was selected first overall by the
Quebec Nordiques in the
1991 NHL entry draft. Lindros had signaled in advance that he would never play for the Nordiques, citing the ownership. Despite this, the team selected him anyway. Nordiques owner
Marcel Aubut publicly announced that they would make Lindros the centrepiece of their franchise turnaround, and refused to trade Lindros, saying that the only way he would play in the NHL would be in a Nordiques uniform. While he awaited a trade, Lindros spent the time playing with the Generals and also participated in the
1992 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal with
Canada. At the
1992 NHL entry draft, the Nordiques worked out trades involving Lindros with both the
Philadelphia Flyers and
New York Rangers. The Flyers trade had the Nordiques receiving
Steve Duchesne,
Ron Hextall,
Kerry Huffman,
Mike Ricci, the rights to
Peter Forsberg, the Flyers' first-round picks in 1992 and 1993, and $15 million. The trade with the Rangers had the Nordiques receiving
Tony Amonte,
Alexei Kovalev,
John Vanbiesbrouck,
Doug Weight, three first-round picks (in 1993, 1994 and 1996) and $12 million. Additionally, if Vanbiesbrouck was declared an
unrestricted free agent,
James Patrick would have replaced him in the deal. After Lindros was officially traded to the Flyers, he stated that he had been wary of playing for the Nordiques primarily because of what he called a "lack of winning spirit" in the organization. At the time they picked him, the Nordiques had finished dead last in the league for three years in a row. However, in 2016, he told
ESPN that his objection to playing in Quebec was based "solely" on Aubut. While he didn't elaborate, he said, "I was not going to play for that individual--period." In 1998, Lindros, at just 25 years of age, was ranked number 54th on
The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players of all time. The only player of comparable age was 37th-ranked
Jaromír Jágr, who was 26 at the time. Lindros' relationship with Flyers general manager
Bobby Clarke soon deteriorated. He and Clarke feuded in the media, with Clarke questioning his toughness; Lindros spent many games on the injured reserve and suffered a series of
concussions, the first in 1998 from a hit delivered by Pittsburgh's
Darius Kasparaitis that sidelined him for 18 games. Lindros suffered a second concussion in December 1998 that sidelined him for two games. During a game against the
Nashville Predators on April 1, 1999, Lindros suffered what was diagnosed as a rib injury. Later that night, the teammate he was sharing a hotel room with,
Keith Jones, discovered Lindros lying in a tub, pale and cold. In a call to the Flyers, the trainer was told to put Lindros on a plane that was returning to Philadelphia with injured teammate
Mark Recchi. But Jones insisted that Lindros be taken to a nearby hospital and it was discovered Lindros had a
collapsed lung caused by internal bleeding of his chest wall. Lindros' father wrote the Flyers a letter in which he stated that if the trainer had followed team orders, Eric would be dead, a statement supported by the doctors who treated him in Nashville. The
1999–2000 season was Lindros' last as a Flyer. Having suffered his second concussion of the season (fourth overall) in March, Lindros criticized the team's trainers for failing to diagnose a concussion as he played with symptoms following a hit he suffered in a game against the
Boston Bruins two weeks prior. Clarke then stripped Lindros of the captaincy for his actions. Lindros sat out the remainder of the regular season and suffered another concussion while rehabilitating for a return to the lineup. Lindros ultimately returned for game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against the
New Jersey Devils; he scored the lone goal in a 2–1 Flyers loss. In game 7 of the series, Lindros was coming over the blue line with his head down, when Devils defenseman
Scott Stevens hit Lindros with a shoulder check, knocking him unconscious and causing him to suffer yet another concussion. He was able to get off the ice with help from teammates. The Flyers lost game 7, 2–1 and the series despite leading three games to one, and Lindros became a restricted
free agent during the off-season. He refused to accept a two-way qualifying offer with a minor league provision from the Flyers, who still owned his rights. After Lindros was cleared to play in December, the Flyers refused to deal his rights to the
Toronto Maple Leafs, as he preferred, and Lindros sat out the entire
2000–01 season.
New York Rangers Bobby Clarke eventually traded Lindros to the New York Rangers on August 20, 2001, in exchange for
Jan Hlaváč,
Kim Johnsson,
Pavel Brendl and a
2003 third-round draft choice (
Štefan Ružička). The Rangers would also receive a 2003 first-round draft pick if Lindros were to suffer a concussion in the pre-season or the first 50 games of the regular season, and did not return to action for at least 12 months (this pick was never converted). In
2001–02, Lindros averaged a little over a point a game with 37 goals and 36 assists for 73 points in 72 games. His impressive start also led to his seventh and final All-Star selection, but due to an injury he was unable to participate and was replaced by teammate
Mike York. Though
2002–03 was the first injury-free season of his career, he struggled to match his previous season, scoring just 53 points in 81 games. In
2003–04, Lindros' eighth concussion limited him to just 39 games, though he did collect 32 points. He again became an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Toronto Maple Leafs On August 11, 2005, after the
NHL labour dispute had cancelled the 2004–05 season, Lindros signed a one-year, $1.55 million contract with the Maple Leafs for the
2005–06 season. After a steady start to his tenure with Toronto in which he recorded 22 points in 30 games, Lindros suffered a tear of a ligament in his left wrist against the
Dallas Stars on December 10, 2005. After a 27-game absence, Lindros returned to the Toronto lineup on February 28, 2006, his 33rd birthday, against the
Washington Capitals. His return was brief, however, as he re-injured his wrist while taking a slapshot in a game against the
Ottawa Senators on March 4, effectively ending his season. He had surgery on the wrist at the Hand and Upper Limb Centre in London, Ontario, two days after the game.
Dallas Stars and retirement Lindros signed a one-year contract for the
2006–07 season with Dallas on July 17, 2006. He played in 49 regular season games collecting 26 points, and three games in the
2007 playoffs. Lindros officially announced his retirement on November 8, 2007, in London at the age of 34. ==Post-playing career==