Ex-Flyers D-man Chris Therien Says Eric Lindros Let Down Team (Excerpt 2)

In “Road to Redemption,” Chris Therien and author Wayne Fish detail the former Philadelphia Flyers defenseman’s career, his battle with alcoholism, and his new path to help others recover from alcohol or drug abuse. This second excerpt is from Chapter 12.

Behind the 88 ball

Then came Game 7. A winnable game that we lost, 2–1. In the first period, Eric Lindros was damn near decapitated on a Scott Stevens hit at the blueline. He was knocked out cold. All the energy was sucked out of the building. Guess what? When you roll the dice enough times, eventually they’re going to come up snake-eyes.

Our good fortune ran out. You could call it a fait accompli that we would lose that final game, which we did by a 2–1 score in front of our own fans. We pretty much knew that Eric had a concussion.

Craig Berube and I were sitting on the bench. Chief put his head down and was covering his face with his hand. Then he looked up. “Are you kidding me?” he said. I almost replied, “I told you this would happen.’’ I refrained. It wasn’t the time. Nobody wanted to see anybody get hurt.

In the next excerpt, which will be out in the next hour, ⁦@ctherien6⁩ has some things to say about ⁦@88EricLindros⁩. Spoiler alert: He’s not a fan of 88. #Flyers pic.twitter.com/E3lAeHFygO

— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) November 3, 2022

This leads me to what I thought happened to Lindros. Outside the numerous injuries which plagued him late in his career, it’s my opinion he was healthy enough to make it back for the 2000 playoffs while guys on the team put their blood and sweat into it only to come away empty-handed.

The entire 2000 playoffs were for the guys in Philadelphia that deserved a Stanley Cup and it was taken away. Never had there been a bigger disappointment than the looks on the guys’ faces after that game.

That’s the best group I’ve ever played with. It’s a shame it had to end like that and a lot of players would echo that sentiment.

My memoir/book release of Road to Redemption is TODAY. Filled with some great hockey stories from my playing days in Philadelphia but also a blueprint for the recovery community! Very pleased to share it with you all! pic.twitter.com/ayEVQ3pbYF

— Chris Therien (@ctherien6) October 25, 2022

His style hurt him

I also think that Lindros’ runaway freight train style of play ultimately hurt him more than it helped. Eric running kids over at 12 years old, at 14 or 18, didn’t do him any favors. The problem was, the level of intimidation that Eric brought, most of us knew was not going to be sustainable for him in later years.

It still haunts many guys on that Flyer team, certainly me. It’s not all Lindros’ fault, but a team’s best player can’t be both that and also his team’s biggest hindrance from a unit standpoint. That’s how it played out. If he had been 100 percent committed to hockey, been more open to criticism, worked to stay healthy and tweaked his physicality, he would have been the greatest player of all time.

That, in a nutshell, is what I think. He needed to adjust his game and he could have. He’d already have created enough room for himself in the league, but Eric never made the necessary adjustments. He could have been a great power forward, an elite passer, which he was, and a productive offensive player. He just needed to tweak his game and realize that running over people every night was not going to help his long-term health.

Sadly, to this day, he’s the one generational player who’s never won a Stanley Cup.

“Road to Redemption,” published by Triumph Books, is available at local book stores or on Amazon.

Excerpt 1: Chris Therien: ‘I was an Alcoholic’