The Final game of NHL hockey was played today at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. Of course the Flyers have been in the Wachovia Center for years now and the Spectrum has only been home to the AHL's Phantoms but it is being torn down, and the Flyers played the Hurricanes in one last hurrah for the storied building.
A pre-game ceremony included former Flyer greats Bob Clarke, Keith Primeau, Ron Sutter, Ed Van Impe, Bill Barber, Kevin Dineen among others. Eric Lindros was invited to attend, which would have been fitting as he was the final Flyer to completely dominate the ice at the Spectrum, and his hype in the 1990s is a major reason the Wachovia Center was built in the first place. Unfortunetely, due to a family friend's memorial service, Lindros turned it down.
He did, though send his wishes via Jumbotron to the fans of Philadelphia in his first official appearance with the Flyers organization since his trade in 2000. Lindros despite all the hateful rumours that flood the internet is a pure class act very rarely seen in pro-sports. He tipped his hat to the Philly faithful calling them the "greatest fans in professional sports." A step in repairing the damaged relationship between Lindros and the Philadelphia Flyers. Clarke himself helped the process along last year calling Lindros a great person and a sure fire hall of famer. Hopefully in the future the Flyers and Lindros will reunite in a more meaningful way - like the raising of his #88.
Regardless, here is the video of his statement:
http://flyers.nhl.tv/console.jsp?type=fvod&id=21441&catid=327
1 comment:
Good read RD.
BTW-Remember oneof your inaugural posts about the new ice machine and how it makes good ice? It makes pretty shitty ice to be honest. Why would the Oilers look to buy a bargain basement priced ice machine?
Thrifty bastards!
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