Bobby Clarke: Lindros Should Be In Hall of Fame

Eric Lindros is set to announce his retirement on Thursday. That is no surprise, as injuries have decimated his career and he has not actively sought on ice employment this season.

With his career now over, it is also no surprise that the Hall of Fame debate has begun in earnest. Should he be included? It's a fitting time, given that it is Hall of Fame weekend up coming, although The Big E will have to wait until 2010 before he is eligible to be enshrined.

It is also no surprise that a lot of fans don't think he should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. TSN.ca's poll suggests 75% of fans don't think Lindros is deserving. Fans love to hate Lindros.

What is surprising is that one of Eric Lindros' biggest detractors has publicly joined the yes campaign. Bobby Clarke, the ultimate Philadelphia Flyer and long time general manager feuded with Lindros for a long, long time. But when TSN's James Duthie asked him whether Lindros should be in the Hall of Fame, Clarke said yes, calling him the dominant player of his time and even going as far as to compare him with Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

"I believe he should be in," said Clarke. "This was the first big, powerful, dominant forward with the skill, not (Wayne) Gretzky or (Mario) Lemieux, but close."

"He won MVP, he was an All-Star, he went to the Stanley Cup final. If you eliminate the crap that circled him, he is easily a Hall of Fame hockey player," said Clarke.

"The last few years were really tough but prior to that Eric was just a player playing hockey," explained Clarke. "Had his parents left him alone I don't know what this kid could have done because he could really play."

Video of Clarke's thoughts are available here.

For what it is worth, I too think Eric Lindros deserves to be included in the Hockey Hall of Fame. I explain it in my Eric Lindros profile from last week.

Look, I don't expect you to like Eric Lindros. It is not the easiest thing to do. He dug his own hole, taking unpopular stances about dictating where he was going to play. He's guarded, moody, abrupt and has no visibly likable personality, and he pissed off a lot of fans and a lot of hockey people along the way.

But if you're capable of removing the soap opera off ice stuff that surrounded him, the injuries and your personal dislike of him, you have to give the guy his due. Hey if Bobby Clarke can, you can too.

Here's a nice little YouTube tribute. It appears to originate from one of Don Cherry's Rock 'em, Sock 'em videos.