The Hit That Literally Ruined A Man's Career

This is Eric Lindross and on May 26, 2000, the Philadelphia Flyers are in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New Jersey Devils, but the thing is, Eric Lindra shouldn't even be playing in this game, but seeks to be the difference. Maker early to help the Flyers advance to the Stanley Cup Final as he finishes to break through the Neutral Zone, little does he know that he is about to make the biggest mistake of his hockey

career

. Every once in a while, there is a player who comes along who has the potential to completely change the entire sport.

We call these players generational talents, players like Gretzky Lemieux and well, Eric Lindros. From day one, Lindros was touted as next. The enthusiasm was real and deserved too when you saw him play against Lindros. He was Elite in terms of offensive ability, but unlike many other players who have scored and racked up points over the years, Lindros brought a physical presence to the ice that hockey fans had never seen from such a talented 64-year-old. 240 pounds, it was almost impossible to stop this man. Seeing a great man move like he did in the '90s was extremely rare.

This gave Lindross the advantage over all players because he could walk through you as easily as he could dance around you. He was a great man. However, with a little man's ability, upon entering the NHL, there were some incidents that made Lindros a polarizing character. Lindros was selected first overall by the Quebec Nordiques and instead of doing what every first overall pick has done, Lindross decided to tough it out, the Nordi would be done. sell him to the Philadelphia Flyers and thus the Lindros era in the NHL was born Lindros was an immediate impact and Philadelphia absolutely loved him for the way he played, a complete superstar who could score, fight and play with the pure emotion that made the It was easy for him to love the city of Philadelphia, but when you play such a physical game it is extremely taxing on your body, as the first seven years of his

career

in Philadelphia was full of production but also nagging injuries, he won a heart.

Trophy and led the Flyers to the Cup Final, but was eventually swept by Detroit, which was a tough pill to swallow for Lindross and the Flyers, but he was still in his mid-twenties and entering his prime, but the form When Lindros played the game he lived by The Sword and died by the sword with his physical play and because he was so great, the players began to return the favor. One of those players was Devil defenseman Scott Stevens with 62 215. Stevens was one of the most punishing open ice hitters in the NHL. I've seen and intimidated almost everyone in hockey except Eric Lindross, who over the years never seemed to back down from Stevens now that bad blood would spill over in this Eastern Conference finals matchup between the Devils and the Flyers, but this is a matchup that Eric Lindross shouldn't even be a part of.

Even though Lindross missed games each season due to injury, the years leading up to the 2000 '99 season were filled with a different type of injuries, concussions. Eric Lindos was a near-perfect player, but he had one small flaw: he had a habit of skating with his head down, and although his size made it difficult to catch him in a vulnerable position, it was only a matter of time before someone took a shot that would lead to this blow. by Darius Casparius giving Eric Lindros his first concussion in the 1998 season The Flyers, like most professional sports teams, knew so little about concussions that they initially sent him to a migraine specialist to make matters even worse. . his 9899 season had ended shortly after the Flyers slowed down diagnosing Lindros with a collapsed lung after a road game the next season for Lindros would be a complete disaster as the timeline was like this December 1999 Ki Jason Wymer hit Lindros to cause another concussion, he only missed two games mid-January would arrive and a pair of hits in a single at-bat in a game against Atlanta would cause another concussion for Lindross.

This time he missed a total of four games. Early March would arrive and Boston's blue giant, Hal Gill, would also be Rock. Lindros Lindros would remain in the game and play for an entire week before the team's medical staff finally diagnosed his concussion. Lindros would then sit out the remainder of the regular season and in early May, Lindros was skating with the Flyers farm club in a conditioning period and collided with a teammate in practice and had apparently suffered another concussion, but That didn't stop him from getting high in late May and re-entering the lineup in the Conference Finals against the Devils after four concussions in one season.

Eric Lindros is back on the ice in a Philadelphia uniform. There were public disputes. between Flyers general manager Bobby Clark and Lindross' parents about how the team was handling his health, teammate John Mclair said that at the time Lindross was suffering a concussion, the Flyers' medical staff he was basically saying just give him a couple days and he'll be fine at the end of the season, a year after his lung collapse the Flyers stripped Lindros of his captaincy so the fact that he's even in this game is a mistake for Lindross, the NHL. and player safety in general, but just 7 minutes into this game, Lindross would make the one mistake no hockey player should make.

Here it is 88 Lindros makes the move and Scott Stevens slams Lindros to the ice and Lindros stays on the ground. ice while all the other players join in oh Bo boy oh boy this is the worst case scenario here for Eric Lindross Stevens found himself entering the Devil's Zone Lindross would cut the middle of the ice with his head towards the side of none other than Scott Stevens Now, by today's standards in the NHL, this is perhaps the dirtiest type of hit you can land on another player today; would cause a major misconduct in a 5 minute game and would definitely get the suspension lifted because the main point of contact of Steven's shoulder was his chin. and lindross' forehead that game and that hit would mark the end of Lind Ross' career as a flyer and his future as an NHL superstar to add insult to injury the Flyers lost game 7 2-1 and also lost perhaps their best wing Lindross-center of his generation would sit out the entire next season with post-concussion syndrome while demanding a trade that would eventually come to the New York Rangers.

After that, Lindros would only play five more seasons, but he was a shell of the player he once was. The play that separated him as a superstar simply disappeared completely. Rangers captain Mark Messier even said at the time that concussions were a problem to the point where Lindros would take a hit and it would hit him almost instantly, suffering so many concussions in such a short amount of time. That period of time would seriously jeopardize anyone's career, but this blow would be the final dagger that would indefinitely ruin L Ross's career. Lindross would later retire after the 2007 season and during his 13-year career he missed the equivalent of two or more seasons due to injuries most of which were concussion related if he had stayed healthy Lindross could have been one of all-time greats throughout his career with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Lindross averaged 1.3 points per game, which placed him at the time in fourth place, behind only Gretzky Lemieux and Bobby O. He was on pace to be one of the best players to ever tie them. Lindros wasn't the only victim of a Scott Stevens hit, by the way, as 3 years later he would do something similar to superstar Paul Korea, except Korea returned 5 minutes after that hit. and gave us one of the most legendary moments in hockey history. Korea K the F wants one of the court in Flor Paul K despite that great moment, although the career of him admitted after that, he did not remember the next 3 days and finally ended up retiring.

Due to concussions also in today's NHL, the league has come a long way in player safety with concussion spotters and headshots to prevent more situations like Lindross and Korea, but this moment here is a mistake which the organization could have avoided entirely first. and then by the player himself, for a player who made very few mistakes at the height of his dominance, this flaw in his game ultimately

ruined

what could have been one of the most dominant careers in NHL history. .