Philadelphia Flyers Great Eric Lindros Overdue for Hall Honor (and Recchi too!)

Philadelphia Flyers legends such as Eric Lindros and Mark Recchi are eligible for Hall of Fame election tomorrow, which is certainly overdue

On Monday afternoon, eligible candidates will find out if they have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the 2016 class. Among those candidates are Philadelphia Flyers greats Eric Lindros and Mark Recchi, and it is past time they receive the honor.

Eric Lindros

Beginning with Lindros, he has been passed over for the honor for 6 seasons. Much of this is likely due to the baggage Lindros carries. Lindros was always a controversial figure, starting with his decision to hold out from playing for the Quebec Nordiques.

Even when Lindros found a welcome landing spot in Philadelphia after a contested trade (whether the New York Rangers or Philadelphia Flyers reached a deal with Quebec first), Lindros found controversy again. He feuded with Flyers general manager and legend Bobby Clarke, leading to embarrassing situations for both men.

Aside from the off-ice drama, Lindros was derailed on the ice by injures. Initially slowed by leg injuries, it was concussions that really ruined his career. In 8 seasons with the Flyers, he never played more than 73 games. One can only wonder what he would’ve have accomplished had we had a better understanding of concussions and rules against head shots in the 90s.

But enough with all the negative. The case for Lindros on the ice is refreshingly simple. Rarely has the NHL seen a player as dominant as Lindros was during his time with the Philadelphia Flyers. During his stint with the Flyers from 1992-2000, consider the best offensive players for that time period:

Mario Lemieux, 2.11 points per game
Jaromir Jagr, 1.45 points per game
Eric Lindros, 1.36 points per game
Teemu Selanne, 1.29 points per game
Pat LaFontaine, 1.27 points per game
Peter Forsberg, 1.25 points per game
Joe Sakic, 1.25 points per game

Of those players, only Lindros, Selanne, and Jagr are not in the Hall of Fame. Selanne and Jagr are not yet eligible, but are almost surely first ballot choices when that occurs. Excluding Lindros from the company he earned is indefensible. Furthermore, this doesn’t even speak to the pure physical dominance of Lindros on the ice, nor the burden of carrying a team as Lindros shouldered.

Lindros finished with 865 points in 760 NHL games, and 659 points in 486 games with the Philadelphia Flyers. That was enough to put him as the #4 goal scorer in Flyers history by our count.

End the nonsense. Eric Lindros deserves to the be in Hockey Hall of Fame.

Mark Recchi

Recchi, my personal favorite player growing up, has been eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame since 2014. Recchi never reached the dizzying heights of Eric Lindros as dominant figure of the league, but his career accomplishments are truly outstanding.