Eric Lindros.
Perhaps no player infuriates Canadians and NHL fans alike than the London, ON native who once spurned not just an entire team but a province and culture as well.
June 22 marks the 20th anniversary of the dubious 1991 NHL draft that changed the face of the NHL forever. It ended so badly, that the team for which he never played ultimately got relocated to the United States.
Hence I write this article with a heavy heart in memorial.
Lindros, labeled "the Next One" was supposed to be exactly that. Only before he ever played a shift in the league, he made it quite CLEAR that he wanted no part of the NHL's smallest market. Nor would he ever embrace the overwhelming French culture that understandably was prevalent in the French province of Quebec.
And thus, on the team, the Quebec Nordiques.
Nordiques-pronounced in the singular as in the male first name, 'Jacques', and not 'Jac-que-S' is the very epitome of the French Nationalism that the province still tries to hold so dear even today amidst a changing Canadian landscape. It clashes with 'English Canada' that goes back to the very inception and thus, ne ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Joe Mikolai
20 Years Later: The Eric Lindros Draft Kills Quebec and Changes The NHL forever
June 16th, 2010 by Joe Mikolai Leave a reply »
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