What if the Rangers had won the Eric Lindros sweepstakes?

In 1992 the New York Rangers made a bold move, offering a king’s ransom for the rights to the best prospect in hockey, Eric Lindros.  It didn’t work, but what if it had?

The New York Rangers have made some pretty big deals. Gump Worsley for Jacques Plante.   Jean Ratelle and Brad Park for Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais.  Bernie Nicholls, Steven Rice and Louie DeBrusk for Mark Messier.  Artem Anisimov, Brandon Dubinsky and Tim Erixon for Rick Nash.   But the biggest deal they ever made was never finalized and it affected the future of the Rangers for years.

Eric Lindros was the catch of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.  At age 17, in 57 games for the Oshawa Generals of the OHL he scored an amazing 71 goals and 78 assists for 149 points.  It was the most points by a 17 year old in Ontario Hockey League history.

But Lindros was not just a gifted hockey player.  He was the prototype of the power forward.  At 6’4″ and 200 pounds, he was a physical specimen, lusted after by every NHL team.  When the Quebec Nordiques finished last in the Adams Division for the fourth straight year, they were destined to get him.

Only when they drafted Lindros, he made it clear that he was not going to report and demanded a trade.  He actually held out, playing for Oshawa and the Canadian National team.  After reportedly turning down a ten-year, $50 million contract offer, the Nordiques decided they had to trade him and began negotiations with a number of teams.

Enter the Rangers

The disaster that had been the 1991-92 season has been well documented on Blue Line Station, most recently by Brett Schultz (click here) and before that by Scott Esposito (click here).  Suffice to say that the Rangers had been unceremoniously ousted in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins after winning the President’s Trophy.

When the Nordiques dangled the chance to acquire the next Wayne Gretzky, Rangers General Manager Neil Smith went all out.  Unfortunately, he was beaten to the punch by Russ Farwell of the Philadelphia Flyers who had a handshake agreement just hours before the NHL Entry Draft on June 20.  The Nordiques and Flyers agreed on a deal that would reportedly send Rod Brind’Amour, Steve Duchesne, Ron Hextall, Mark Recchi, Mike Ricci, Dominic Roussel and several first-round draft picks along with $15 million in exchange for the rights to Lindros.

This is where it gets crazy.  Quebec President Marcel Aubut had second thoughts when Smith swooped in with an offer that reportedly included Tony Amonte, Alex Kovalev, Sergei Nemchinov, James Patrick, and their choice of John Vanbiesbrouck or Mike Richter along with several first round draft picks and as much as $20 million.

Aubut accepted the Rangers offer, the Flyers filed a complaint with the NHL and the decision was left to arbitrator Larry Bertuzzi who, after five days of hearings and discovery, ruled that the deal with the Flyers had to be honored.