Simon Gagne Fansite

  For Eric... 

a true champion, in every sense of the word

"And the hockey gods smiled in agreement and decreed; We shall make ourselves a player like no one else has ever seen. He will be large and strong and swift. He will be the perfect player. No, wait. Only we are allowed to be perfect. All right then. We will give him one weakness. See that dimple on his chin. There. Right there. That's the spot."

-Bill Lyon, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 28,000

Lindros, like all champions, was great and powerful. But again, like all champions, he had one weakness. For some of the greats, it was age, gradually slowing them down bit by bit. For others, it was their legs and knees, which at one point made them greats, carrying them faster across the ice then any other player, and now betrayed them to mediocrity. For Eric, it was his susceptibility to head injuries. Like his brother, Brett, he was plagued by a series of sever concussions. A few wrong diagnoses didn't help the matter. But still he played; his love of the game squashed the pain, the angry management, and his glowering teammates. His heart outdid them all, only to be forced down again. But Eric is young, and strong. I do believe he will make a triumphant comeback again. Maybe not the 2001 season, but by 2002 the Next One will return, and Bobby Clarke will regret all the comments, all the ridiculing, everything.

You can bet on it.