Eric Lindros – Toronto Maple Leafs and the Shocking Non-Trade

A History of Concussions

The most unfortunate part of Lindros’s career was that he was hurt so many times. Concussions weren’t the only thing that limited his time but it was the most common.

The first concussion came in March of 1998 when a check from Darius Kasparaitis forced Lindros to miss 18 games. He came back and stayed healthy for nine months. That changed when the Philadelphia Flyers played the Calgary Flames. After center Jason Wiemer violently checked Lindros into the boards, he sustained a mild concussion.

In January of 2000, the Big E was concussed for the third time. It came when he was hit by an elbow while playing the Atlanta Thrashers. The fourth concussion was sustained in March that year. This time he suffered a Grade II concussion when he was checked by former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman, then playing with the Boston Bruins, Hal Gill. Exactly two months later, a collision with Francis Lessard in practice gave Lindros his fifth concussion.

His very next concussion was from the famous open-ice hit delivered by Scott Stevens. It came after Lindros had returned to the Flyers lineup for the 2000 Eastern Conference finals after a 10-week absence. He made it back in time to play in Game 6 where he scored the Flyer’s only goal. Lindros got through that game unscathed but was leveled by Stevens in Game 7. The impact was so brutal that it forced the London, Ontario native to spend the night in the hospital and spend months rehabbing.