Back in the U.S.S.R?

Linus Omark is may be heading back to Russia to play in the KHL. He has had a tough time cracking the roster with an Oilers team full of young, exceptionally talented players. I just hate to see another very gifted Swedish player give up so easily. He says he would prefer to play with Edmonton, but he's not there right now. Is it just me or does it seem like kids born in the 80s and on are more likely to quit? I think they have been pampered too much and things don't go there way they rather fold than fight.

Hall of Fame-worthy?

ESPN's John Buccigross has put together a list of players in the NHL who will be, or could/should be, worthy of a Hockey Hall of Fame induction. The list is done team by team, some teams have a few chosen ones while some have none. It is not a scientific list, it's just for fun, and here are some of the funniest on the list.

Dominik Hasek: For the "Hey There Delilah" crowd, he has won six Vezinas and two MVPs.

Chris Drury: It's my column and my rules. I make them up. He is clutch and, in life, clutch is everything. Move on.

Anze Kopitar: Like Van Halen after their first album. You just knew.

Montreal's favorite Fin, Saku Koivu, was left in the dust, as was Flyer Daniel Briere. If it were my list (who knows, one day I might make such a list) they both get nods.

Big E calls it a day

After 14 injury-filled seasons in the NHL Eric Lindros is finally hanging up his skates for good. What will his legacy be? I guess time will tell.

A more interesting question is whether or not he should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. If you ask me, the answer is yes.

Why, you might ask. And I can totally see where those are coming from who say he shouldn't. Eric Lindros is not the greatest advocate for the game, nor is he a great team player. He isn't the most liked guy in the league, and he constantly put himself ahead of his team, twice refusing to play for the team that drafted him.

The simple reason that I believe he should be a member of the Hall is that Cam Neely is. Neely was a fantastic power forward, much like Lindros, and his career stats are about the same as those of Lindros, but he never got to hoist the Stanley Cup with his beloved Bruins, just like Lindros never did with any team he played for. I think it will be hard to keep Lindros out since they did induct Neely.

I also think one reason that the Boston center was inducted was much thanks to his popularity. Cam Neely was a gentleman player who was well liked all around the NHL by both fans and players, which again, can't be said about Big E. But surely that is not reason enough to not grant him a place in the Hall of Fame.

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Some facts about Big E,

In 1990 he refused to play for the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League and was traded off to the Oshawa Generals. Then in 1992, after being drafted by the Quebec Nordiques, he once again refused to play (he even refused to wear the Nordiques jersey at the draft). This eventually led to one of the most one-sided transfers in NHL history as Lindros was shipped off to Philadelphia for, among others, Ron Hextall, Peter Forsberg, Chris Simon, Mike Ricci, a couple of draft picks, and $15 million.

In his first five seasons with the Flyers he was a dominant presence on the ice, averaging around a pointy per game. He was awarded both the Hart Trophy, as the league MVP, and the Lester B. Pearson Award in the shortened 1995 season. In 1997 he captained the Flyers to the Stanley Cup final, where they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in four games.

Eric Lindros also played with the New York Rangers, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Dallas Stars and has 372 goals and 865 points in 760 games between 1992 and 2007.