Eric Lindros Eric Bryan Lindros ( ; born February 28 , 1973 in London , Ontario ) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player . Lindros played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) for the Oshawa Generals prior to being selected first overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques . Lindros refused to play for the Nordiques and was eventually traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for a package of players and draft picks including Peter Forsberg . During his OHL career , Lindros led the Generals to a Memorial Cup victory , as Canadian Hockey League ( CHL ) in 1990 . Prior to being drafted in 1991 , Lindros was captured the Red Tilson Trophy as the Most Outstanding Player in the OHL , and also captured the CHL Player of the Year . Lindros started his National Hockey League ( NHL ) career with the Flyers during the 1992 – 93 NHL season . Lindros was a prototypical power forward , and averaged more than a point per game . His hard nosed style caused him to miss significant times with injuries , and he had many problems with concussion s . Lindros captured the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lester B . Pearson Award after the lockout shortened 1994 – 95 NHL season . Later in his career , Lindros joined the New York Rangers via trade . He signed with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2005 – 06 NHL season . He finished his career with the Dallas Stars . In international play , Lindros represented Canada at the World Junior Championships three times ( 1990 , 1991 , and 1992 ) , winning gold medals in 1990 and 1992 . He has also represented Canada at the World Hockey Championships , leading the team in scoring at the 1993 tournament . In Olympic play , Lindros represented Canada three times ( 1992 , 1998 , and 2002 ) , winning a silver medal in 1992 and a gold medal in 2002 . Personal life . The son of Carl and Bonnie Lindros , Eric has Swedish heritage . The name " Lindros " means " Rose of the Linden tree " . His great grandfather Axel immigrated to Canada from Sweden , and Eric is the third generation of the Lindros family to be born in Canada . Carl Lindros received a B . A . from the University of Western Ontario ( where he played football , well enough to be drafted 30th over - all by the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1970 CFL Draft ) , and became a Chartered Accountant ; he would later be Eric ' s agent . Hockey career . 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 [ St . Michael ' s College School in Toronto with his brother and fellow hockey player , Brett Lindros . Both brothers at one time or another ( Eric in 1988 – 89 ) played for the school ' s Metro Junior " B " 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 " . Throughout his career , Lindros has been tagged with various other nicknames , including " The Big E " , which was originally the nickname of the USS Enterprise ( CV - 6 ) | , the famous World War II aircraft carrier . The hype around Lindros during his early career led to an exclusive deal with sports card manufacturer SCORE . Attempting to leverage this arrangement as much as possible , he was even featured on a baseball card showing him as a third baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays , although the closest he came to a professional baseball career was taking batting practice one day with the Blue Jays . A controversy arose when Lindros refused to go to the Sault Ste . Marie Greyhounds after they drafted him from St . Michael ' s . Lindros had already stated his intention not to join the Greyhounds , but Greyhounds owner Phil Esposito drafted him anyway , enabling Esposito to sell his share in the team at a higher price . Lindros was traded to the Oshawa Generals instead , and when they played the Greyhounds , some Greyhound players wore black armbands in protest of Lindros ' antics . He played parts of three seasons for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) from 1990 to 1992 . During that time , he scored 97 goal s and had 119 assist s in 95 games played . Lindros helped lead the Generals to the 1990 J . Ross Robertson Cup , and a 1990 Memorial Cup victory . During the 1990 – 91 OHL 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 . On March 6 , 2008 , the Oshawa Generals retired his # 88 , just the second number to be retired by the franchise , and it was declared Eric Lindros Day in Oshawa . 1991 NHL Entry Draft . Lindros ' entry to the National Hockey League proceeded in much the same manner . 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 distance , lack of marketing potential , and having to speak French . He went as far as to refuse to wear the team ' s jersey on draft day ; the team selected him anyway . The Nordiques president publicly announced that they would make Lindros the centrepiece of their franchise turnaround , and refused to trade Lindros , saying that he would not have a career in the NHL as long as he held out . Because of Lindros ' popularity and hype , it is alleged that the NHL President intervened to get the Nordiques to trade him , as it would otherwise damage the image of the league . While he awaited a trade , Lindros spent the time playing with the Oshawa Generals and also participated in the 1992 Winter Olympics , winning a Silver Medal . In 1992 , the Nordiques worked out trades for him with both the New York Rangers , and Philadelphia Flyers . Eventually an arbitrator , Larry Bertuzzi ( granduncle of Todd Bertuzzi ) , ruled in favour of the Flyers , for whom Lindros played from 1992 to 2000 , most of the time as the team ' s captain . Many consider this trade a key reason that the Colorado Avalanche ( the new name of the Nordiques after they relocated before the 1995 season ) , went on to be an NHL powerhouse . They received in the trade eventual Hart Trophy winner Peter Forsberg , as well as Ron Hextall , Chris Simon , Mike Ricci , Kerry Huffman , Steve Duchesne , a 1st round selection ( Jocelyn Thibault ) in 1993 , a 1st round selection ( later traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs , later traded to the Washington Capitals — Nolan Baumgartner ) in 1994 , and $ 15 , 000 , 000 cash . Since the trade , the Avalanche have won eight division titles and two Stanley Cup championships , due in part to the play of Forsberg , and the later addition of Patrick Roy , whom the Avalanche received in a later package deal that included Thibault . The trade between the Nordiques and the Rangers that was ruled invalid by the arbitrator had Lindros being traded for Doug Weight , Tony Amonte , Alexei Kovalev , John Vanbiesbrouck , three first round draft picks ( 1993 , 1994 & 1995 ) and $ 12 million . Philadelphia Flyers . With his imposing physical strength and playmaking ability , Lindros established himself as the top player on a Flyers team that had perennially been in contention but always fell short . His time in Philadelphia would see him score points at a phenomenal rate ( for much of his first 5 seasons in the NHL , Lindros hovered around 4th all - time in points per game ) and become one of the most feared players in the NHL , eventually leading the Flyers to the Stanley Cup finals in 1997 ( which they lost to the Detroit Red Wings ) ; he would also suffer frequent injuries and feud with general manager Bobby Clarke . Along with John LeClair and Mikael Renberg , he played on the " Legion of Doom " line . He scored over 40 goals in each of his first two seasons and won the Hart Trophy as MVP in the lockout - shortened season of 1995 by scoring 29 goals and 41 assists in 46 games . He led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup finals in 1997 , handily defeating their three opponents along the way . The Flyers were overmatched against the Detroit Red Wings , however , and were swept in the series , with Lindros managing to score his only goal in the dying minutes of Game 4 to cut the score to 2 - 1 . In 1998 , Lindros , only 25 years old , was ranked number 54 on " The Hockey News " ' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players of all time . The only player of comparable age was No . 37 - ranked Jaromir Jagr , 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 concussion s , the first in 1998 from a hit delivered by Pittsburgh ' s Darius Kasparaitis that sidelined him for 18 games . During an April 1 , 1999 , game against the Nashville Predators , 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 team mate 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 ' s 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 following season , he was stripped of his captaincy after criticizing team doctors . Once again plagued by concussions , Lindros returned in the Eastern Conference Finals , in which he played the final two games of the series , the latter of which Lindros suffered yet another concussion after a hit by New Jersey Devils defenseman Scott Stevens . The Flyers lost the final game and the series , and Lindros became a restricted free agent during the off - season . He refused to accept a 2 - 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 rest of 2000 – 01 NHL season . New York Rangers . Flyers GM Bobby Clarke eventually traded Lindros to the New York Rangers on August 20 , 2001 for Jan Hlaváč , Kim Johnsson , Pavel Brendl , and a 2003 3rd - round draft choice ( Štefan Ružička ) . He played for the Rangers for the next three seasons . Though his second season with them was the first injury - free one of his career ( albeit his first season averaging under one point a game ) , in 2004 he sustained his eighth concussion . He was given permission by a doctor to resume training ; however , two doctors who had never examined or treated him suggested Lindros retire . He again became an unrestricted free agent . Toronto Maple Leafs . On August 11 , 2005 , after the NHL labour dispute had canceled the 2004 – 05 season , Lindros signed a one - year , $ 1 . 55 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2005 – 06 NHL season . After a steady start to his tenure with Toronto in which he recorded 22 points in 32 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 , 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 5 , 2006 , 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 NHL season with the Dallas Stars on July 17 , 2006 . Lindros officially announced his retirement on November 8 , 2007 , in London , Ontario . Post - playing career . On November 11 , 2007 , three days after his retirement , the NHL Players Association appointed Lindros to the newly created position of NHLPA ombudsman . Lindros had been involved with the organization throughout his career . Lindros cut ties with the NHL Players ' Association on February 3 , 2009 , resigning as ombudsman after 15 months on the job . International play . Played for Canada in :