Eric Lindros, bust or biggest bust ever?

[BringHomeTheCup! 0]

GP:760

G:372

A:493

P:865

PIM:1398

That is the stat line of Eric Lindros. He never did live up to the hype, or potential. Never won a Cup, only had one finals appearance. Never played a full 82 game season. 8 out of 13 seasons, he was an All-Star. He averaged 1.14 PPG.

Hall of Fame worthy?

I don't think so.

[Guest Agalloch]

Um, he's not a bust at all. It's ******* ridiculous to call him a bust in the slightest bit. He was one of the most dominant power forwards in the game in his prime, and definitely lived up to all of his potential.

Then the injuries/concussions came.

[redmathew 0]

HOF never

Bust, no way. well maybe for every team other then philly

He might get his number in the rafters, but thats only if clarke leaves.

[betterREDthandead 58]

Any GM would kill to get the kind of production out of a #1 pick that Lindros provided. Especially the one that drafted Alexandre Daigle.

[toby91_ca 620]

Bobby Clarke actually gives his vote to Eric for the Hall....surprised the hell out of me.

Anyone who calls Lindros a bust is out of their mind. The guy lived up to his potential/hype, no doubt about that. Problem is that he couldn't maintain it.

No one will question whether he had HOF ability, the only thing holding him back is the fact that he didn't have longevity.

For the record, I don't think he'll get in and in a perfect world I would say he doesn't deserve to get in, however, there is no reason Cam Neely should be in over Lindros.

[MacK_Attack 108]

Cam Neely's in the Hall of Fame and Eric Lindros will be, too.

[Guest EZBAKETHAGANGSTA]

Um, he's not a bust at all. It's ******* ridiculous to call him a bust in the slightest bit. He was one of the most dominant power forwards in the game in his prime, and definitely lived up to all of his potential.

Then the injuries/concussions came.

[BeeRYCE 2]

1992-Jun-30 Traded from Quebec Nordiques to Philadelphia Flyers for Chris Simon, Mike Ricci, Kerry Huffman, Ron Hextall, Peter Forsberg, Steve Duchesne, future considerations, round 1 pick in the 1994 draft, round 1 pick in the 1993 draft and cash.

15 years later would you have suggested that this guy is likely not going to the HOF?

[BeeRYCE 2]

1992-Jun-30 Traded from Quebec Nordiques to Philadelphia Flyers for Chris Simon, Mike Ricci, Kerry Huffman, Ron Hextall, Peter Forsberg, Steve Duchesne, future considerations, round 1 pick in the 1994 draft, round 1 pick in the 1993 draft and cash.

15 years later would you have suggested that this guy is likely not going to the HOF?

[BringHomeTheCup! 0]

Philadelphia Flyers traded Ron Hextall, Peter Forsberg, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Mike Ricci, Chris Simon, 1st round selection (Jocelyn Thibault) in 1993, 1st round selection (later traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, later traded to the Washington Capitals - Nolan Baumgartner) in 1994 and cash to the Quebec Nordiques for Eric Lindros.

He was not a bust? He never won anything. He never scored 50, and had 1 100+ point season.

Yeah, he did have a few good years. He did have a pretty solid PPG output. However, he didn't live up to his potential, therefore is a bust.

Edited November 8, 2007 by BringHomeTheCup!

[betterREDthandead 58]

Yeah, he did have a few good years. He did have a pretty solid PPG output. However, he didn't live up to his potential, therefore is a bust.

OK, then. What should he have done to not be a bust?

Of all the players selected #1 overall (or highest forward selected in case of goalie) since 1980, only 5 have outscored him: Dale Hawerchuk, Mario Lemieux, Pierre Turgeon, Mike Modano, Mats Sundin. Lindros' "pretty solid" PPG numbers are better than all but Hawerchuk and Mario, and that includes such "non-busts" as Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, and Ilya Kovalchuk.

In his prime, Lindros was absolutely the premiere power forward in the league. He was anything but a bust. We forget how he was in the '90s because the eight or nine concussions derailed his career and he didn't play at that high level in this decade. Even then he was a big threat.

Bust? Ridiculous.

[toby91_ca 620]

He was not a bust? He never won anything. He never scored 50, and had 1 100+ point season.

Yeah, he did have a few good years. He did have a pretty solid PPG output. However, he didn't live up to his potential, therefore is a bust.

A few good years? Do you realize that his first 5 years in the league were right up there with the greats? He wasn't able to play a full season in those 5 years, but had the gpg and ppg during those years to have 50 goals and 100 points for those 5 straight years.

Actually, if he had of been able to play 82 games a year, his first 8 years would have averaged out to 49 goals, 111 points. I realize that this is based on the per game totals he put up and he wasn't able to play all the games, but that shouldn't diminish what he actually did accomplish.

I buy the argument that he didn't do enough to get into the HOF, but to say he is a bust is silly in my opinion.

[HomeNugget 2]

i think some people are unclear on what makes someone a bust. 13 seasons and a 1.14 PPG average doesn't make a player a bust.

[edicius 3,269]

Perhaps not a bust, but definitely not a HoFer.

[BringHomeTheCup! 0]

Here is the thing. He was great, for a few years. So what? He wasn't able to maintain it. And that is the bottom line. Without his name on the Cup, he needed to do more than just be good in the regular season for a few years.

We aren't talking about first overall picks here. He is just a bust. Plain and simple. He was never the player he could have been. Yes, injuries played a large roll in that, but why should that make any difference?

I could have taken my career to the next level, but a shoulder injury prevented that. Should I get any credit? No. Why? Because it didn't happen.

Lindros never won anything. He was never lead the league in points, goals, or assits (yes, once he did tie for points, but Jagr scored more goals, so by default, the award was given to him) and he has only twice finished in the top 10 in points.

What about him says HOF? Nothing.

He never did anything he was supposed to do. He never dominated the league. He was a bust.

[eva unit zero 271]

Lindros was a good player. But he doesn't belong in the HOF.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

Here is the thing. He was great, for a few years. So what? He wasn't able to maintain it. And that is the bottom line. Without his name on the Cup, he needed to do more than just be good in the regular season for a few years.

We aren't talking about first overall picks here. He is just a bust. Plain and simple. He was never the player he could have been. Yes, injuries played a large roll in that, but why should that make any difference?

I could have taken my career to the next level, but a shoulder injury prevented that. Should I get any credit? No. Why? Because it didn't happen.

Lindros never won anything. He was never lead the league in points, goals, or assits (yes, once he did tie for points, but Jagr scored more goals, so by default, the award was given to him) and he has only twice finished in the top 10 in points.

What about him says HOF? Nothing.

He never did anything he was supposed to do. He never dominated the league. He was a bust.

I don't think there's another person on this planet I find more wrong about stuff than you.

HOF, I don't think so. Bust? This is a semantic argument now. His PPG are better than just about everybody you could compare him to. Guys like Thornton, etc, none of those guys have their names on the ******* cup either so quit calling him a bust for not winning one. Was Ernie Banks a friggin bust of a player cause he never won a World Series. Was Steve Yzerman a bust prior to 1997?

When you score over 800 points in the NHL in as few games as he played, that's not a bust. Look up his PPG against history, BAM! He's up there amongst the greatest to ever play the game.

No, he shouldn't get to use injuries as a crutch to get into the Hall. But he sure as hell can use the injury excuse against being called a bust. Getting hurt doesn't make you a bust. It makes you unfortunate or unlucky. Alex Daigle was a bust. Eric Lindros was a star whose time was cut short due to injury. How you call him a bust is absurd.

[MacK_Attack 108]

I don't think too many busts won Hart Trophies.

A bust, to me, is a player who comes in with great hype and never reaches it, and struggles to even come close to his potential.

Eric Lindros achieved his potential, albeit not for long. He won a Hart Trophy, he was the most dominating player in the world for about five years or so. That's nothing to scoff at. Perhaps with ten years removed from that time, people have forgotten what kind of a force Lindros was.

Eric Lindros averaged 0.6 goals per game. The ONLY players who averaged more are named Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Brett Hull. When you are in that kind of company, a bust you are not.

Eric Lindros lived up to every word of the hype. He was like nobody had seen before. However, because he couldn't keep his head up, he couldn't maintain it.

[johnnyoski 0]

Agree...definitely not a bust but I don't think he deserves to be in the HOF.

His old Philly linemate John LeClair would get my vote before Big E.

[MacK_Attack 108]

Agree...definitely not a bust but I don't think he deserves to be in the HOF.

His old Philly linemate John LeClair would get my vote before Big E.

Who was a floundering 2nd/3rd line scorer until he started riding Eric's coattails.

[betterREDthandead 58]

Here is the thing. He was great, for a few years. So what? He wasn't able to maintain it. And that is the bottom line. Without his name on the Cup, he needed to do more than just be good in the regular season for a few years.

We aren't talking about first overall picks here. He is just a bust. Plain and simple. He was never the player he could have been. Yes, injuries played a large roll in that, but why should that make any difference?

I could have taken my career to the next level, but a shoulder injury prevented that. Should I get any credit? No. Why? Because it didn't happen.

Lindros never won anything. He was never lead the league in points, goals, or assits (yes, once he did tie for points, but Jagr scored more goals, so by default, the award was given to him) and he has only twice finished in the top 10 in points.

What about him says HOF? Nothing.

He never did anything he was supposed to do. He never dominated the league. He was a bust.

Never dominated the league?? Bulls***! Do you remember the '90s at all?

If he wasn't a dominant player, why would the Wings, when faced with the prospect of trying to beat him in a seven game series, assign their toughest, nastiest defenseman to shadow him all game, every game? Lindros was easily one of the most feared players in all the league in the '90s.

I don't care whether or not he's Hall of Fame worthy. That's a debate that goes beyond Lindros because there are other players in that position. But calling him a bust is ridiculous. Even remotely mentioning "biggest bust ever" is plain ignorant. Hype is not the same as potential. Most players never are the "player they could have been." Is Mario Lemieux a bust because he could have done better, what with that back injury and the cancer? Is Owen Nolan a bust? Same draft position, therefore, same expectations - but no Cup and worse stats.

Who was a floundering 2nd/3rd line scorer until he started riding Eric's coattails.

And reverted to same when Lindros left.

By the way, if a Cup is what makes you not a bust, Boyd Devereaux will be happy to hear the news.

[HomeNugget 2]

Here is the thing. He was great, for a few years. So what? He wasn't able to maintain it. And that is the bottom line. Without his name on the Cup, he needed to do more than just be good in the regular season for a few years.

We aren't talking about first overall picks here. He is just a bust. Plain and simple. He was never the player he could have been. Yes, injuries played a large roll in that, but why should that make any difference?

I could have taken my career to the next level, but a shoulder injury prevented that. Should I get any credit? No. Why? Because it didn't happen.

Lindros never won anything. He was never lead the league in points, goals, or assits (yes, once he did tie for points, but Jagr scored more goals, so by default, the award was given to him) and he has only twice finished in the top 10 in points.

What about him says HOF? Nothing.

He never did anything he was supposed to do. He never dominated the league. He was a bust.

Just like Gilbert Perreault and Marcel Dionne. ******* losers.

[puckloo39 5,686]

To those who supported Lindros as one of the most dominant and exciting players ever, you are right on. He was truly one of the best I've ever seen. I hated the Flyers but I was crazy about Lindros, and still am. I am just glad he retired before he lost his life or was disabled for the rest of his life. His career was too short, but it was a beauty when he was healthy.

I will miss him on the ice. Lindors is not a bust, far from it. I don't know about the Hall of Fame, since I guess I think truly extraordinary players ought to be there... but I wouldn't mind seeing him there.

[toby91_ca 620]

Eric Lindros averaged 0.6 goals per game. The ONLY players who averaged more are named Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Brett Hull. When you are in that kind of company, a bust you are not.

I agreed with mostly everything you said, except this. Lindros didn't average 0.6 gpg, unless you are talking about a certain period of time. Also, the list of players that have a better than 0.6 gpg is longer than you suggest. The most notable name missing is Mr. Mike Bossy.

[BringHomeTheCup! 0]

I don't think there's another person on this planet I find more wrong about stuff than you.

HOF, I don't think so. Bust? This is a semantic argument now. His PPG are better than just about everybody you could compare him to. Guys like Thornton, etc, none of those guys have their names on the ******* cup either so quit calling him a bust for not winning one. Was Ernie Banks a friggin bust of a player cause he never won a World Series. Was Steve Yzerman a bust prior to 1997?

When you score over 800 points in the NHL in as few games as he played, that's not a bust. Look up his PPG against history, BAM! He's up there amongst the greatest to ever play the game.

No, he shouldn't get to use injuries as a crutch to get into the Hall. But he sure as hell can use the injury excuse against being called a bust. Getting hurt doesn't make you a bust. It makes you unfortunate or unlucky. Alex Daigle was a bust. Eric Lindros was a star whose time was cut short due to injury. How you call him a bust is absurd.

If we all could take a trip in the way back machine, we'd see that the only player hyped as much or more than Lindros since Lindros is Crosby.

Was Yzerman a bust before '97? No. Why? He wasn't supposed to be the Next One. He was simply, another one. I'm not saying Lindros is a bust because he never won a Cup. I am saying that does add to it. On the biggest stage of his career, at the height of his career, the Wings held him to 1 goal (in the last what, 45 seconds of game 4?) in the SCF. He was never able to live up to the hype, or his potential. He is a bust.