Eric Lindros

Spurned by the Maple Leafs, the rights to Lindros were traded, with his approval, to the New York Rangers.

Eric Lindros

He received a four-year deal worth $38 million. Though Lindros wanted to play for a contender, which the Rangers were not, he was happy to play with Mark Messier, his childhood idol and captain of the Rangers. Lindros himself was named an alternate captain.

When Lindros began playing at the beginning of the 2001-02 season, he was very rusty and did not play as hard as he had in Philadelphia. He would not use his size to open up the middle as much and gave up big hits. While he showed flashes of his brilliance, he still retained his bad habit of carrying the puck with his head down, leaving him vulnerable to big hits. He suffered another concussion in December 2001. Until then, the Rangers and Lindros were playing well, but after, Lindros was content to play on the perimeter. Though the Rangers did not make the playoffs, Lindros did play for Team Canada in the 2002 Olympics. He was a key player and contributed to Canada winning the gold medal.

In 2002-03 season, Lindros still had moments where his skills showed, but it was tempered by his other problems. He was benched early in the season by new coach Bryan Trottier for taking bad penalties. He was suspended for one game for illegal use of his stick. He also had a long scoring drought, a problem on a team that was struggling to win games despite its many talented players. When Lindros did score, he showed he had the touch, despite all the issues surrounding his career. Of a goal against the Phoenix Coyotes, Messier told Jason Diamos of the New York Times, "That was a typical Lindros goal. Hard forecheck. Beat somebody out of the corner. Carry somebody on your back. Then score a goal."