The 2002 Off Season
The Draft (Notable Selections):
1 - Eric Lindros (MTL)
3 - Scott Niedermayer (MIN)
6 - Peter Forsberg (VAN)
11 - Brian Rolston (MIN)
15 - Alexei Kovalev (PHI)
16 - Markus Naslund (CHA)
18 - Glen Murray (NY)
26 - Ziggy Palffy (CHI)
54 - Chris Osgood (TOR)
40 - Mikael Renberg (VAN)
85 - Sergei Zubov (PHI)
156 - Peter Bondra (SEA)
Big Moves
-This was a big offseason for the Founders who not only drafted well with two notable picks but also made a big move to sign former Sawblade captain Mark Messier.
-The Minnesota Loons hire new head coach Herb Brooks (coach of the US 1980 Olympic Team)
The Trade
If Wayne Gretzky was the Great One, then Eric Lindros was the Next One. Touted as one of the most coveted draft prospects in league history - all eyes were on Montreal who once again had the first pick in the draft. Yes, that is the third straight year with the top pick. With their first two picks they took Owen Nolan and Mats Sundin. Before the draft, Lindros made it clear that he did not want to play in Montreal. He was not comfortable with the language barrier or the teams lack of success. He told the media that he would not play if selected by the Chevs. Despite his warning Montreal selected Lindros anyway.
After holding out during the year like he said that he would the Chevs finally announced that they were open to trading him. The bidding frenzy commenced. The first team to call Gritty for a deal were the Toronto Terriers. The Terriers offered Steve Yzerman and a bevy of draft picks. Yzerman also mentioned that he would hold out if traded to Montreal. The other teams to call were Calgary and Minnesota. However the two biggest offers came from the Founders and the Glaciers. And the controversy began.
It was reported that the Glaciers and Chevaliers had a deal in principle for Lindros. The Glaciers offerd a haul including Mike Ricci, Rod Brind'Amour, Mark Recchi, Steve Duchesne, Ron Hextall, Dominic Roussel, 3 first round picks and $15 million. That is an insane offer considering that all of those players made up the core of the Glaciers roster. However within 80 minutes Gritty had second thoughts and considered another deal from the Founders. The Founders offered Sergei Nemchinov, Tony Amonte, Alexei Kovalev, James Patrick, and goalie John Vanbiesbrook OR Mike Richter, as well as 3 first round picks and $20 million.
The Glaciers claimed that the Chevs reneged on their agreement and filed a complaint with the CHL. The CHL hired an arbitrator to look at the issue. After a five day hearing the CHL ruled that the deal with the Glaciers was enforceable and Lindros was headed to Vancouver. The Founders were found to be innocent in the confusion.
The final trade had the Chevaliers acquire Ron Hextall, Steve Duchesne, Mike Ricci, Kerry Huffman, first round picks, $15 million, and Glaciers first round pick Peter Forsberg.
The impact of this trade reverberated for years and put both the Glaciers and Chevaliers on the path towards sustained success. The Chevs turned the first round pick acquired to draft goalie Jocelyn Thibault who was ultimately traded to San Francisco for Patrick Roy. Assets acquired in that deal led to the acquisition of Adam Deadmarsh and Alex Tanguay. For the Glaciers, Lindros became their cornerstone and captain for the next decade. He centered the famous Legion of Doom line with John Leclair and Michael Renberg.
For a video of how it all went down...
https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/video/remembering-eric-lindros-trade-flyers
Last edited by Gritty (4/20/2020 2:27 pm)
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