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Saturday, January 13, 2001
Islanders reportedly make attractive offer
ESPN.com news services
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The New York Islanders made a trade offer for Eric Lindros that would have been accepted if Lindros was not set on going to Toronto, the Philadelphia Daily News reported Saturday.
When they broke off talks with the Maple Leafs on Thursday, Philadelphia Flyers chairman Ed Snider and general manager Bob Clarke said "one team in particular" had made an offer for Lindros the Flyers would have taken -- if Lindros was not insistent on going to Toronto. That team is the Islanders, the Daily News has learned.
A Flyers source and a league source with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed that Friday. Snider and Clarke have refused to identify the team, and the Islanders had no comment.
But the league source said: "The framework is in place if (Lindros) would agree to come. A deal could be completed in a matter of hours."
Asked specifically Friday night about the Islanders, Clarke said: "I can't tell you that." He added two teams called about Lindros on Thursday and three more Friday.
Lindros, his father and agent, Carl, and family legal adviser Gord Kirke all said in the wake of the Flyers' decision to stop talking to the Leafs that their position has not changed, that Eric is determined to continue his concussion-interrupted career in Toronto.
Islanders GM Mike Milbury is thought to have spoken with Kirke, who apparently told him Lindros would not play for the Islanders. It is not clear what the Islanders offered.
Even though they were 11-26-4-2 after the 4-3 defeat Friday at Pittsburgh, the Islanders have several good players who presumably would spark the Flyers' interest -- forwards Mariusz Czerkawski and Brad Isbister, and defensemen Roman Hamrlik and Kenny Jonsson, to name a few. And conditional draft choices -- thought to be a big part of Toronto's offer -- obviously would be more attractive coming from the Isles, who haven't made the playoffs since 1994 and generally draft in the top five.
"Yes, that's true," Clarke said, when asked about the comparative value of the draft picks.
The league source said he thought the Flyers were willing to take less from the Isles than from the Leafs, perhaps because of the perceived value of the draft choices. The Islanders have new ownership that wants to rebuild flagging support and replace what might be the league's most uninspiring, threadbare building, Nassau Coliseum.
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