Philadelphia Freedom? A Big Maybe for Lindros

By noon today, Eric Lindros could be on his way to the St. Louis Blues. Or he could be headed to the Phoenix Coyotes. Or the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Or, perhaps just as likely, he could be headed nowhere as the NHL’s trading deadline passes, stuck in limbo as an unsigned restricted free agent whose rights belong to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Bob Clarke, the Flyers’ general manager, holds the upper hand in any deal for Lindros. Clarke can afford to be choosy. His team is playing well, entrenched in fourth place overall in the Eastern Conference.

If a deal isn’t right, there’s no sense for Clarke to make a hasty move that could backfire. On the other hand, he has in Lindros a valuable asset who could bring added depth and experience to the Flyers for the stretch run and the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Pressure has been building in Philadelphia for several seasons. The Flyers haven’t won a Stanley Cup championship since 1975 and don’t appear to have the talent, depth or experience to win this season. But with a roster tweak today, they could improve significantly.

So where would you trade Lindros if you were Clarke?

St. Louis seemed like a good bet Monday, particularly since Lindros was in town getting checked out by the Blues’ doctors. Like the Maple Leafs, the Blues are a desperate team. Defensemen Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis are injured and the team has fallen out of first place in the Central Division. It’s possible an eye injury could sideline MacInnis for the rest of the season. Pronger, sidelined because of a broken arm, is expected back by the end of the regular season.

Neither the Blues nor Maple Leafs are considered to be on a par with league powers such as the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings or New Jersey Devils. Both teams are close, however.

If you’re Clarke, why make a conference rival such as Toronto better by dealing Lindros to the Maple Leafs? After months of insisting he would only accept a trade to Toronto, Lindros said recently he would be willing to go to another playoff-bound team.

Clarke reportedly turned down this offer last week from St. Louis General Manager Larry Pleau: Lindros for veteran center Pierre Turgeon. Clarke prefers a deal for youngsters such as forwards Pavol Demitra and Michal Handzus plus defenseman Barret Jackman and prospect Mike Van Ryn.

Pleau would be risking a great deal in trading for Lindros, whose history of concussions is troubling to say the least. Lindros has had six in the last 27 months, the most recent when New Jersey defenseman Scott Stevens decked him in the conference finals last May.

But Pleau is well versed in post-concussion syndrome. His son, Steve, had his college career ended because of concussions. Pleau also spent time counseling Geoff Courtnall when the former St. Louis player suffered what turned out to be a career-ending concussion.

According to reports Monday from Toronto, Clarke remains open to trading with the Maple Leafs. But Clarke is insisting that any deal include defenseman Tomas Kaberle.

Perhaps the most intriguing scenario would involve the Flyers, the Maple Leafs and the Coyotes, who are rumored to be ready to trade center Keith Tkachuk.

A three-team deal could send Kaberle, center Nik Antropov and a Toronto draft pick to the Coyotes, put Tkachuk in Philadelphia and clear the way for Lindros to play for the Maple Leafs.

The Coyotes, under new owner Wayne Gretzky and new General Manager Cliff Fletcher, are said to have four teams interested in trading for Tkachuk. Among them are the Flyers and New York Rangers.

Last week, Fletcher rid the Coyotes of holdout goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, trading his rights plus defenseman Stan Neckar to the Tampa Bay Lightning for right wing Mike Johnson, defenseman Paul Mara, a prospect named Ruslan Zainullin and a draft pick.

The deal was done while Fletcher and Rick Dudley, his Tampa Bay counterpart, drove along Interstate 10 from Phoenix to Palm Springs for the general managers’ meetings. Dudley must now sign Khabibulin, who has sat out almost two full seasons.

It’s the same scenario for any team that acquires Lindros. He must be signed to a new contract before he can play for his new club--one more hurdle to clear before we see No. 88 on the ice again.

LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE

There’s no question that Pierre Gauthier, Mighty Duck president and general manager, has established a reputation for going back on his word. Dealing Teemu Selanne last week to the San Jose Sharks after saying in November (and several other times) that he would not is only the latest in a string of fibs.

Chris Stevenson, a reporter for a Canadian Web site, came up with a list of his top five Gauthier fibs:

1. On the Saturday of the 1998 draft, Gauthier denied to a reporter that he was quitting as the Ottawa Senators’ general manager. (He resigned the following Monday.)

2. He said he was leaving the Senators to spend more time with his family and didn’t have another job in mind. (Weeks later, he was president and general manager of the Ducks.)

3. He called a meeting of his players and told them no one would be traded. (Three days later, winger Andrei Nazarov and defenseman Patrick Traverse were dealt to the Boston Bruins.)

4. He told everyone firing the coach was not the answer to the team’s troubles. (Before long, Craig Hartsburg was fired.)

5. He said he would not trade Selanne. (He was traded last week.)

SPEAKING OF TOP FIVE LISTS

Here are five steps the Ducks can take to rebuild their sagging fan base. No, giving fans free cracks at Gauthier with a hockey stick at center ice is not one of them.

1. Expand the $15-ticket section to include all of the upper-deck seats behind the nets. Freeze or lower season-ticket prices in the rest of the Arrowhead Pond. Give the fans a break for once.

2. Put photos of speedy wingers Paul Kariya and Jeff Friesen on billboards and buses and park benches around Orange County. Add a catchy slogan. “Catch us if you can,” comes to mind. Print a phone number for tickets. It’s called a marketing campaign. Look into it.

3. All-black third uniforms. No stripes. Duck crest on the front. Name and number on the back. Very cool.

4. Embrace the past. End the petty personality conflicts. How about paying tribute to the men whose blood, sweat and tears got the franchise off the ground. Would it be so wrong to show highlights of Ron Wilson behind the bench? Or Teemu Selanne scoring goals? Or Guy Hebert making save after save?

5. Replays, replays, replays. As it is now, replays of significant plays aren’t shown until after all children in the arena have had their mug on the Jumbotron. If I want to see kids at play, I’ll walk down my street after school lets out. I want to see a replay of Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s glove save, folks.

ZEBRA TROUBLE

The league’s two-referee system, used for all games for the first time this season, hasn’t been all it could be, mainly because there is a shortage of experienced zebras.

However, the league is concerned about the performance of its officials and has implemented a new grading system. Referees and linesmen are graded one to four, with one being an official who is on his game and four being an official who risks dismissal because of poor work.

“This is what they wanted,” Andy Van Hellemond, the league’s director of officiating, recently told the Hockey News. “They wanted to be kept up to date with how they are doing. There is no hidden agenda here.”

The NHL Officials Assn.’s contract expires at season’s end. Talks on a new contract are reportedly underway.