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Wednesday, November 8, 2000
Flyers hope drama is over
Associated Press
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PHILADELPHIA -- The soap opera on Broad Street appears over.
Hockey's version of "Days of Our Lives" seems more like the
"Brady Bunch" as the post-Eric Lindros Era begins for the
Philadelphia Flyers.
"We're a team that won our conference, went to the conference
finals and almost went to the Stanley Cup finals so I don't feel we
were dysfunctional," said team chairman Ed Snider, who bristled
when the Flyers were tagged with that label last spring. "There
was one player who felt we were dysfunctional. If anybody asked the
other players, nobody in our organization thought we were
dysfunctional."
|  | | Lindros likely won't be a Flyer ever again. |
After a long, bitter feud, Lindros -- the former captain and
franchise player -- rejected the team's $8.5 million qualifying
offer and is a restricted free agent.
He's recovering at home in Canada from his sixth concussion, and
his friends say he doesn't want to talk about hockey until he's
competely better. He hasn't even returned messages from some of his
former teammates.
"I made a few calls, but I haven't been able to get a hold of
him," Keith Primeau said.
Though the divorce isn't official -- Lindros was on the protected
list for the waiver draft -- the Flyers are ready for life without
the star center and the distractions that surrounded the team
during his eight years in Philadelphia.
"With Eric, every little injury became bigger than what it was,
bigger than the team," general manager Bob Clarke said. "But now
we just want to play hockey. We don't need any of that stuff
anymore."
Lindros' relationship with Clarke -- his childhood hero --
deteriorated to the point where he turned down a hefty salary
without any guarantee that he'll get a contract offer from another
team.
"Too bad it had to end on a sour note," said Mark Recchi, the
team's leading scorer last season.
The departure of Lindros isn't the only reason there's no more
turmoil in Philadelphia.
Roger Neilson, the former Philadelphia coach and friend of
Lindros, has recovered from cancer and will be an assistant with
the Ottawa Senators this season.
Neilson, forced to leave the Flyers during last season for
treatment, never got back the job he said he was promised would be
waiting for him when he returned. He left after the Flyers
appointed Craig Ramsay head coach.
The Flyers drew criticism for the way they handled the
situation, but Clarke insisted Neilson's doctors didn't feel he was
healthy enough to resume coaching.
"The perception of the public affected us because we don't like
hearing those things because it's not true," Snider said. "We
have one of the best organizations in sports. We think we do an
outstanding job."
Despite all the drama, the subplots and twists, the Flyers got
within one game of reaching the Stanley Cup finals before the New
Jersey Devils rallied to win the best-of-seven series.
And they did it without Lindros, who missed the last 14 games of
the regular season and all but the final two games of the playoffs.
|  | | John LeClair might not menace opponents in a Philly uniform after this season. |
"I didn't care about the distractions last year. The players
handled themselves like champions," Ramsay said. "It doesn't
matter to me. I'm sure we'll find more."
One of those might be the contract status of John LeClair, who
becomes an unrestricted free agent after the season. Another could
be the pending trial of Kevin Stevens, the ex-New York Ranger who
faces drug-possession charges in Illinois.
LeClair won the largest arbitration award in NHL history in
August, getting a one-year deal for $7 million -- a substantial
increase from his $3.96 million salary last season.
But the star left wing wanted a long-term contract before the
start of training camp, and talks broke down after he declined a
four-year deal worth well more than $7 million a season.
LeClair, who might end up on the trading block, won't discuss
his contract. But he's eager to start his first season in
Philadelphia without Lindros as a linemate.
"I played a lot of games last year without him so it's not
going to be that foreign to me," said LeClair, who played on the
top line with Primeau throughout training camp.
Stevens signed a one-year deal after spending two months
undergoing drug rehab at a Connecticut facility. He and a
prostitute were arrested in January at a motel after the Rangers
played a game against the St. Louis Blues.
The former 50-goal scorer has friends among his new teammates.
"Kevin is a fantastic person. That's not even an issue in this
dressing room," said Recchi, who played with Stevens in
Pittsburgh. "He's going to help the club. You talk to anyone who
knows him, he's a terrific person on and off the ice. He brings a
lot to the team."
But Stevens can't possibly fill the void left by Lindros. While
they won't miss the off-ice distractions, the Flyers will miss
having Lindros on the ice.
"We'd like Eric in the lineup," goaltender Brian Boucher said.
"He's obviously one of the top three or four players in the
league, maybe even higher than that. It makes our club better if
he's in here, but we learned to play without him last year."
And they aren't done with him just yet. Once Lindros decides
he's healthy enough to play, the Flyers will have to work out a
trade for his rights.
"I wish it were 100 percent behind us," Snider said. "We have
to deal with it at some point. Once again, it'll probably become
bigger than life. It's something we can't control. Just like when
we were playing so well in the playoffs, the big story was, 'When
is Lindros going to come back?'
"It was unfair to the team. In the final analysis, when you
look at the end result, the team was doing extremely well, and the
two games Lindros played, we lost both of them and they were
crucial games."
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