On the Wings

After his 6th concussion on a brutal open-ice hit from Scott Stevens (who is currently suffering from post-concussion syndrome and is out indefinitely), Lindros was pretty buzzed. It was Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, May 26, 2000. The sixth concussion in 27 months. I remember the replays showing the back of his head hitting the ice, not to mention the force of the elbow check that many called legal but I thought was dirty. He returned, as teammate Mark Recchi asked: “Is the love of the game worth going out there and risking the rest of your life? Obviously, it’s not.” He suffered a seventh concussion on Dec. 21, 2001 on a collision with San Jose’s Mark Smith. It was not a serious, and he missed only four games. And now, with his NHL career on the thread of 7 previous concussions, Big Eric suffered his eighth (not a typo) concussion in the Rangers’ 2-1 loss to the Caps Wednesday night. Caps defenseman Jason Doig smashed Lindros into the boards in the second period. He stayed on the bench, even going out on his next shift to fight Doig. But Lindros did not return for the third period. Sather: “…By her over-the-phone diagnosis after talking to our doctors, they don’t think it’s that severe.” For a player touted with so much potential early in his career, it is truly unfortunate that Eric has had so many injuries. The former 1995 NHL MVP’s career is now in serious jeopardy.