Rangers have renewed interest in 88
Apparently, talks are heating up again between the Flyers, Rangers and Lindros Camp over the Boy Wonder than is Eric Lindros. As reported by an anonymous (what else is there?) source, Bobby Clarke and Glen Sather have been talking over what the price would be for the disgruntled center.
This comes on the heels of the Lindros Camp shooting down yet another potential deal for Lindros, this time consisting of Tom Poti, the recently acquired Jochen Hecht and a high draft pick going to the Flyers from Edmonton. Carl Lindros told the Oilers GM Kevin Lowe that Eric won’t sign there. Or is it that Eric “isn’t allowed” to sign there?
Clarke is said to be interested in Hlavac, Brendl, Lundmark and Johnsson, while coveting Radek Dvorak to fill out his top two RW spots with Dvorak and Recchi. While Glen Sather has said he won’t deal all of his young players at once, the possibility is still there that one or two, along with maybe a first round pick would be enough to land Lindros and not too rich for Sather’s blood.
Lindros, through his attorney Gordon Kirke, has stated that he will sign a games played contract with the Rangers, where a base salary will consist of around 2-3 Million dollars, and a big bonus of $5 Million or more if he plays over 70 games.
All of this ties in with the Olympic Orientation camp September 4-7 in Calgary, which Lindros has been invited to. However Team Canada GM Wayne Gretzky has said Lindros will not play for team Canada if he isn’t playing on a team to be selected to the Olympics. The camp will give GM’s, including Sather, a chance to see how Lindros is playing compared to other NHL stars.
While I expect 88 to be traded to New York, I don’t expect it to happen until the seasons draws closer, probably after the camp. For this deal to get done, I think Sather will have to part with Brendl, Lundmark or Dvorak, along with a young defenseman (Mottau, Jonsson, Novak, Kloucek) and a 1st rounder.