[cornflakes]

I don't really know why people hate Eric Lindros so much. If you really think about it, when he broke into the league he was phenomenal. He had size, strength, speed, skill, shooting, u name it! He was a scoring machine and he was unstoppable. There's no question of a doubt Lindros was well on his way to becoming the next big superstar in the NHL. It's rather sad that he has had a career marred with injuries and he never truly got to realize his full potential. This is the unfortunate reality of sports and sometimes there's nothing much you can do about it.

I guess you can believe that Gretzky also had some kind of skill in avoiding injury and never putting himself in a position to get hurt(???? I've heard this argument before). So it's like saying Mario Lemieux due to his lack of skill got cancer or back injuries.

Let me list a few other notables whose careers dramatically changed as a result of seroius injuries and may cost them a hall of fame type career:

Pavel Bure: scoring machine, probably the greatest goal scorer in the modern era. Suffered a broken leg, missed a whole season or more and never was the same after that.

Paul Kariya: probably has the most skill than any player but since suffering that cross check by Gary Suter and giving him a concussion, Kariya has never quite been the same player

Peter Forsberg: tremendous player with grit and skill but tons of injuries has shut him down all too often.

It's interesting to note the flip side.....that ppl like Dany Heatley who had a life threatening almost life ending car accident rebounds to be as good as he was always projected to be (a top 5 nhl player). Is it skill? Who knows but i think its fair to say there are some things we just can't control and sports is all about a mix of human input but also chance/luck/destiny whatever you want to call it. It's what makes it magical but also bittersweet and sad.

Why should Bobby Orr be in the Hall of Fame? He only played 10 seasons and his total stats suck. But yet Orr is regarded as arguably the greatest player of all time next to the likes of Gretzky, Howe, and Lemieux. It's because of what he did when he was healthy and able bodied.

Big E probably doesn't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame but without a doubt, he was one of the greatest players we have seen when he was at the top of his game just like Orr. Only the Big E stayed around much longer and that probably took his glory away....had he left after only 6 or 7 seasons he'd be like another Orr...always revered and legendary because of what he did in the short time and what HE COULD have done had he played longer (ie. just like Orr).

My 2 cents