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What other offers did the Nordiques receive for the rights to Eric Lindros?


nameci

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Thirty years ago the Quebec Nordiques drafted Eric Lindros first overall in the Entry Draft knowing that Lindros had no intention of playing for the team.  In the end the Nordiques agreed upon a deal with the Philadelphia Flyers which sent Lindros to Philly for a package that included Peter Forsberg, Mike Ricci, Chris Simon, Steve Duchesne,  Kerry Huffman, Ron Hextall, two first round picks and $15 million.  I had always wondered if there were other packages in play which were of comparable value and according to the most recent Hockey News Draft Preview there were.  In the midst of negotations with Detroit, Quebec demanded a package of Sergei Fedorov, Nick Lidstrom, Steve Chiasson, Martin Lapointe, Tim Cheveldae and draft picks.  Detroit nixed the deal fairly quickly.  Calgary made a pitch for Lindros offering a package of Mike Vernon, a choice of Al MacInnis or Gary Suter and a choice of Joe Nieuwendyk or Robert Reichel. but this wasn't sufficient for the Nordiques.  Toronto's offer was a package of Felix Potvin, Wendel Clark, Dave Ellett, Craig Berube, multiple draft picks and $15 million.  The Nordiques insisted on the inclusion of Doug Gilmour and the Leafs declined, ending the discussions.  The New Jersey Devils offered a strong package of Sean Burke, Stephane Richer, Claude Lemieux, prospect Scott Niederrmayer, cash and picks, but discussions went nowhere.  In the closest deal that never was the Black Hawks told the Nordiques to put together any package of players that didn't include Jeremy Roenick.  The Nordiques agreed and settled on a package where the Nordiques would receive Ed Belfour, Steve Larmer, Steve Smith and two draft picks for Lindros and three Nordique draft picks.  When the Nordiques asked for $5 million in cash as part of the trade, Hawks owner Bill Wirtz put the kibosh on the deal.  In negotiations with the New York Rangers, Quebec was offered Alexei Kovalev, Tony Amonte, Sergei Nemchinov, James Patrick, a choice of John Vanbiesbrouck or Mike Richards, multiple first round picks  and $20 million dollars.  The Nordiques notoriously agreed to a trade with the Rangers minutes after agreeing to the Flyers deal, leading to an arbitration settlement which determined that Lindros would be the property of the Flyers.

Lots of big names in play and it is amazing to try and determine the long term effects on both clubs had the Nordiques chosen to deal with one of the other clubs who had made substantial offers for Eric Lindros.  Hope you old timers enjoyed this walk down memory lane and thinking what might have been, if only...............

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3 minutes ago, Nuxfanabroad said:

You mean Mike Richter from the Rags, right?

They wouldn't have had a goalie in 94.

 

I'm sure Lindros and Messier would have had many conflicts.

 

The cup would've been ours had the deal gone through with NYR.

 

 

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11 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

I believe the Canucks offered them Raymond, Ballard and a 1st round pick plus $15 million but were turned down at the last hour...

Close.

 

The Nordiques agreed to the deal, but only verbally.  McCammon forced Quinn to get the deal in writing in the middle of the night and then the Nordiques called the whole thing off.

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31 minutes ago, Bell said:

That deal is pure insanity.  Forsberg straight up for Lindros would be reasonable,  Add the first rounders plus money, such a crazy deal.

The hype surrounding Lindros was unreal, and if he didn't get injured/concussed so much in his career, he might have met it. He was expected to be the next messier.

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2 hours ago, nameci said:

Thirty years ago the Quebec Nordiques drafted Eric Lindros first overall in the Entry Draft knowing that Lindros had no intention of playing for the team.  In the end the Nordiques agreed upon a deal with the Philadelphia Flyers which sent Lindros to Philly for a package that included Peter Forsberg, Mike Ricci, Chris Simon, Steve Duchesne,  Kerry Huffman, Ron Hextall, two first round picks and $15 million.  I had always wondered if there were other packages in play which were of comparable value and according to the most recent Hockey News Draft Preview there were.  In the midst of negotations with Detroit, Quebec demanded a package of Sergei Fedorov, Nick Lidstrom, Steve Chiasson, Martin Lapointe, Tim Cheveldae and draft picks.  Detroit nixed the deal fairly quickly.  Calgary made a pitch for Lindros offering a package of Mike Vernon, a choice of Al MacInnis or Gary Suter and a choice of Joe Nieuwendyk or Robert Reichel. but this wasn't sufficient for the Nordiques.  Toronto's offer was a package of Felix Potvin, Wendel Clark, Dave Ellett, Craig Berube, multiple draft picks and $15 million.  The Nordiques insisted on the inclusion of Doug Gilmour and the Leafs declined, ending the discussions.  The New Jersey Devils offered a strong package of Sean Burke, Stephane Richer, Claude Lemieux, prospect Scott Niederrmayer, cash and picks, but discussions went nowhere.  In the closest deal that never was the Black Hawks told the Nordiques to put together any package of players that didn't include Jeremy Roenick.  The Nordiques agreed and settled on a package where the Nordiques would receive Ed Belfour, Steve Larmer, Steve Smith and two draft picks for Lindros and three Nordique draft picks.  When the Nordiques asked for $5 million in cash as part of the trade, Hawks owner Bill Wirtz put the kibosh on the deal.  In negotiations with the New York Rangers, Quebec was offered Alexei Kovalev, Tony Amonte, Sergei Nemchinov, James Patrick, a choice of John Vanbiesbrouck or Mike Richards, multiple first round picks  and $20 million dollars.  The Nordiques notoriously agreed to a trade with the Rangers minutes after agreeing to the Flyers deal, leading to an arbitration settlement which determined that Lindros would be the property of the Flyers.

Lots of big names in play and it is amazing to try and determine the long term effects on both clubs had the Nordiques chosen to deal with one of the other clubs who had made substantial offers for Eric Lindros.  Hope you old timers enjoyed this walk down memory lane and thinking what might have been, if only...............

https://googlethatforyou.com?q=lindros nordiques trade

 

I'm not going to read your wall of text, thats why you got the lu face

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They had been tracking/hyping the Big-E since his early teens. For a pre-net era, there was so much talk.

 

Then for almost a decade prior, Gretz & Mario had turned the puck world on it's ear. To see a 3rd C of this magnitude was becoming everyone's hope/expectation.

 

Felt these two factors kinda played off each other, & the hype went hyperbolic.. a situation we'll probably never see again.

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Just another whining hockey player that thought he was above the game - he could have played for the Nordiques - became a free agent and moved on.

 

Instead - the Nordiques later (as the Avs) would win the cup.

 

 

How many did you get Lindros?  

Was it worth it?

 

Pathetic IMHO.

 

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1 hour ago, c00kies said:

The hype surrounding Lindros was unreal, and if he didn't get injured/concussed so much in his career, he might have met it. He was expected to be the next messier.

I believe he was supposed to be the guy to take over from Mario.  His nickname was "The Next One", in reference to Gretzky's "The Great One".  He was at least one level above Messier, maybe 2.

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7 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

I believe he was supposed to be the guy to take over from Mario.  His nickname was "The Next One", in reference to Gretzky's "The Great One".  He was at least one level above Messier, maybe 2.

Yes, he had a body (and physicality) like Mess, but his skills were supposed to be like those other two, my bad. 

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