How Eric Lindros Could Have Changed Avalanche History
Looking back in history, 35 years ago last month, Eric Lindros was property of what would eventually become the Colorado Avalanche. The then-Quebec Nordiques selected the 18-year-old Lindros number one overall in the 1991 NHL Draft.
Before he was ever drafted, Lindros had already built a reputation around hockey circles as "The Next One." This was the third straight year the Nordiques were the owners of the first overall pick. They had selected Hall of Famer Mats Sundin in 1989, bruising right winger Owen Nolan in 1990, and they had their sights set on Lindros in 1991.
The 6'5” Lindros was coming off a phenomenal season with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League that saw him score a whopping 71 goals and 149 points in only 57 games.
He was Mario Lemieux with physicality.
Before the draft took place in Buffalo on June 22, 1991, Lindros informed the Nordiques he wouldn't play for them. The Nordiques ignored his wishes and took him regardless. When Nordiques team president Marcel Aubut presented Lindros with a Nordiques sweater, he refused to wear it.
That would lead to a standoff that would last over a year until the Nordiques accepted two trade proposals for Lindros, which would ultimately be handled by an arbitrator.
Aubut agreed to a deal with both the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers. The Flyers were awarded Lindros in a blockbuster trade that saw Lindros go to Philadelphia in exchange for Peter Forsberg, Mike Ricci, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Ron Hextall, a first-round draft pick in 1993 (Jocelyn Thibault), and $15 million.
A little less than a month later, the Flyers sent Chris Simon and Nolan Baumgarter to Quebec to "complete" the trade.
The kid hadn't seen a second of action in the NHL and he brought a bigger ransom than Wayne Gretzky did when he got dealt to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988.
What If Lindros Joined Quebec?
Let's take the DeLorean back to 1991 and say Lindros decided to stay with the Nordiques.
There was a nice nucleus of offense in Joe Sakic, Sundin, Nolan, Valeri Kamensky, and Martin Rucinsky. Throw Lindros into the mix and now you're cooking with fire.
The only problem was the Nordiques had no defense and even less goaltending. While it may have taken them a little longer to be a contender, when you remove the assets the Nordiques would have received in exchange for Lindros, they would have been absolutely loaded down the middle, which is the foundation needed to compete in the playoffs.
No Blockbuster Trade
There is no question the assets the Nordiques received in return for Lindros were the catalyst that took them from the basement to the penthouse in one season.
They had Duchnese quarterbacking their power play, which went from 19th in the league in 1991- 92 to fifth overall a year later. There hadn't been a Nordiques defenseman of that magnitude since they dealt Jeff Brown to the Blues in exchange for goaltender Greg Millen and center Tony Hrkac in December of 1989.
Ricci was an integral part of the Avalanche's first Stanley Cup championship in 1996 and was a very serviceable player for the team until they dealt him to the San Jose Sharks in 1997 in exchange for Shean Donovan and a first-round pick, which was used on left winger Alex Tanguay, another piece who helped the Avs win their second Stanley Cup in 2000.
Goaltender Ron Hextall was only in Quebec for one season, but he gave them some much-needed stability between the pipes. He helped the Nordiques soar to the tune of 104 points in '92-'93 and backstopped them to their first playoff appearance since 1987.
Future Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg would arrive from Sweden in 1994-'95 and would go on to win a Calder, Hart, and a Ross Trophy during his time in Quebec/Colorado.
Without those key pieces, the Nordiques don't ultimately become what would later be the Colorado Avalanche. The questions surrounding that hypothetical can run wild.
Would Lindros become the centerpiece that Sakic eventually became? And if so, would Sakic have remained the captain? Would they have been able to coexist? What about Sundin? Does he stay in Quebec instead of being jettisoned to Toronto in the seven player Wendel Clark trade?
Sundin was already showing he was a star in the making when he scored 114 points in his third year in the league. Do they trade Nolan to the Sharks for offensive defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh?
Then you have the offense. Is the offense even more dangerous with Lindros than what the Avalanche would demonstrate to the league a few short years later?
The Stanley Cup Question
When the Avalanche moved to Colorado in 1995, they realized if they were going to contend for a Stanley Cup, then they needed a top goalie in order to do it.
That's why when Patrick Roy became available after a fallout with Montreal Canadiens head coach Mario Tremblay during an 11-1 drubbing by the Detroit Red Wings in December of 1995, the Avalanche pounced.
Colorado traded Thibault, Rucinsky, and Andrei Kovalenko to Montreal for Roy and Mike Keane. Adding Roy immediately turned the organization into made men.
Two Cups later, the team had no complaints, and Roy would win his third Smythe Trophy as playoff Most Valuable Player in 2001.
Without Thibeault, could the Avs still manage to pull off the trade?
They did have young Stephane Fiset, who would become a very serviceable goaltender. A team of Sakic, Lindros, and Roy would have been a frightening proposition for opposing teams, not to mention the additions of Hall of Fame defensemen Ray Bourque and Rob Blake later on down the road.
When you talk about the career of Eric Lindros, it is hard to ignore the injuries. He received multiple concussions in his career, the worst being an open ice hit by New Jersey Devils defenseman Scott Stevens in the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals.
If Lindros didn't play a majority of his career in the rough East, would his career trajectory have been different in the West? He would have avoided regular meetings with Stevens, Darius Kasparaitis and the like.
The best-case scenario would have been that Lindros and Sakic became hockey's version of Jordan and Pippen. Throw in Roy, Bourque, and Blake and you have the Chicago Bulls of the mid to late 90's.
The Avalanche could have very well won more Cups than they did with Lindros on the roster, but we will never know. They say the best trades are the ones you don't make, but in this instance, Colorado wouldn't have been the Avalanche had they not made their best trade.
