The last time Eric Lindros stepped on the ice in an NHL game, he received a concussion-inducing check from defenceman Scott Stevens.

Four years ago, playing for the Philadelphia Flyers, Eric Lindros was one of the most intimidating players in hockey. Now it looks like the former captain is determined to leave the game on a stretcher.

Oct 28: Scott Oake talks to Eric Lindros on The Headliner

Related: Ron MacLean talks to Eric Lindros' doctor, James Kelly

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That's the feeling of most hockey observers after Dr. James Kelly -- the same neurosurgeon who cleared Pat LaFontaine to play -- gave the green light to Lindros on Monday to resume his NHL career.

Lindros has suffered six -- count 'em six -- concussions in the span of 27 months, with the most devastating coming in May during the Eastern Conference finals. In just his second game back from a previous concussion, Lindros was demolished by a devastating, open-ice hit from New Jersey Devils defenceman Scott Stevens.

Eric Lindros Born: Feb. 28, 1973 London, Ont. Height: 6'4" Weight: 236 pounds Timeline: May 1989: Carl Lindros, Eric's father and agent, won't let his son report to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, who make him the first overall pick in the OHL draft. Later that year, Eric is traded to the Oshawa Generals for three players, some draft picks and $80,000. May 1990: Leads the Oshawa Generals to their first Memorial Cup since 1944. May 1991: Named the Canadian Hockey League's player of the year. June 1991: Drafted first overall by the Quebec Nordiques, but refuses to put on the team's jersey. June 30, 1992: After refusing to report to the Nordiques, Quebec owner deals Lindros to both the Flyers and the Rangers. Arbitrator Larry Bertuzzi rules in favour of the Flyers, who trade Peter Forsberg, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Mike Ricci, Ron Hextall, Philly's first-round pick and $15 million to get the youngster. Oct. 6, 1992: Scores his first NHL goal in his first NHL game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. November 1992: Lindros is charged with assault for allegedly spitting and pouring beer on a woman in the Koo Koo Bananas Bar in Whitby, Ont. He is eventually acquitted. Sept. 6, 1994: Named as 11th captain in Flyers history. June 1995: Wins the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player in a strike-shortened season and leads the Flyers to the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the New Jersey Devils. June 1996: Finalist for Hart Trophy after putting up a 115-point season. February 1998: Captain and leading scorer for Team Canada at the Nagano Olympics. Feb. 28, 1998: Scores the game-winning goal against the Rangers for the 500th point of his NHL career, becoming the fifth-fastest player in NHL history to reach the milestone (only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Peter Stastny and Mike Bossy reached the mark in fewer games). March 7, 1998: First concussion: Hit by Penguins defenceman Darius Kasparaitis sidelines Lindros for 18 games. April 1, 1999: Suffers punctured right lung in game against Nashville. Misses final seven games of regular season and Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against Toronto. Dec. 27, 1999: Second concussion: Calgary Flame forward Jason Wiemer's hit forces Lindros to miss two games. Jan. 14, 2000: Third concussion: Lindros is hit twice in the same shift in a game against the Atlanta Thrashers. He misses four games. March 4, 2000: Fourth concussion: Boston defenceman Hall Gill hits Lindros. Doctors misdiagnose his condition, and Lindros plays a few games before pulling himself out of the lineup. He misses the rest of the regular season and says the team's medical staff didn't treat his injury seriously enough. March 27, 2000: After being stripped of the captaincy, Eric Desjardins named as the 12th captain in Flyers history. May 4, 2000: Fifth concussion: While practising with Philadelphia's farm team, Lindros crashes into Francis Lessard. May 26, 2000: Sixth concussion: In just his second game back, a crushing Scott Stevens hit in the Eastern Conference finals puts Lindros out of commission. June, 2000: The Flyers make Carl Lindros' letters to the team public. In the letters, Carl Lindros complains about the team medical staff's incompetence. July 1, 2000: Lindros refuses to sign Philadelphia's $8.5-million US qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent. Nov. 27, 2000: Lindros is cleared to resume play by Chicago neurosurgeon Dr. James Kelly.

Ever since he was a player in junior, Lindros was groomed as the next NHL superstar, poised to take over for Wayne Gretzky and lead a new generation of players in the league.

Although Lindros has looked dominating at times in his relatively young career - he won a Hart Trophy in the strike-shortened 1994-95 season -- he has never really fulfilled the expectations of him.

With his rare combination of grit and skill, Lindros was also compared to one of the NHL's great leaders in Mark Messier.

Like Messier, Lindros was thought of as the quintessential captain capable of leading a team to the Stanley Cup.

But so far in his eight-year career, Lindros has led the Flyers to only one Stanley Cup final appearance, only to fall short.

And after the Stevens' hit, many thought the forward's career was over.

But after a lengthy rehabilitation and a long battle with post-concussion syndrome, Lindros appears once again to be ready to accept the risk of stepping out on the ice, although doctors can't tell him for sure whether another slight bump to the head will force him into retirement.

"In concussion, there's very limited objective science," Dr. Karen Johnston, director of neurotrauma at the McGill University Health Centre told the Toronto Star. "We don't know how to measure how severe the injury is and how to know whether someone has fully recovered or how vulnerable they are to the next concussion."

LaFontaine thought he was ready to pursue his career after suffering a serious concussion when he was crushed by Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Francois Leroux during the 1997-98 season.

Like Lindros, LaFontaine was considered one of the elite players in the NHL, once scoring 148 points in a season and playing in the all-star game five times.

After being traded from the Buffalo Sabres to the New York Rangers, LaFontaine decided in the off-season that he wanted to make a comeback. He lasted 67 games, scoring 62 points, before he collided with teammate Mike Keane and sustained another concussion. He retired in the summer of 1998.

"More than anything else, I look back and I'm thankful," LaFontaine told the National Post. "I appreciate the time I had playing hockey, but I'm also thankful for my health. After going through post-concussion a couple of times, it changes your prespective. You appreciate the healthy times."

A short return, and a possible lengthy rehabilitation, is a distinct possibility given Lindros' medical past, and it seems it's a risk he's willing to take.

"There is a lot of risk involved -- from a medical point of view -- but I've been cleared and I feel good,'' Lindros said.

A number of teams are willing to take a chance as well.

While an injury-prone player normally doesn't attract much interest from NHL general managers, several franchises have talked openly about acquiring the former Hart Trophy winner to help them secure a berth in the playoffs and a possible championship.

Although Lindros has already expressed his interest in playing only for the Toronto Maple Leafs, rich teams like the New York Rangers, the Los Angeles Kings and the St. Louis Blues have all said they might make a pitch to Flyers general manager Bobby Clarke for the big forward.

So why so much interest in Lindros? It's because Lindros isn't your average player.

A healthy No. 88, one who isn't on the sidelines nursing some sort of injury, is one of the top five players in the NHL today, capable of changing the momentum of a game with one big hit or a key goal.

It's his rare combination of physical presence and scoring ability that makes him so attractive to Leafs general manager/coach Pat Quinn.

Behind Leafs captain Mats Sundin, Lindros would give the team a 1-2 punch that would be the envy of the league, but Quinn knows there's an inherent risk involved with picking up the forward.

``Is a healthy Eric Lindros of interest to us? You bet. But we're not about to take all the risk in this,'' said Quinn.

With Clarke maintaining that he wants full value for Lindros, Quinn will likely have to part with either Sergei Berezin or Nik Antropov, or maybe one of Toronto's young defencemen like Tomas Kaberle or Danny Markov, and maybe a few fringe players or draft picks.

The cost of several young prospects might be too much of a risk for what could be little in return if Lindros ends up playing just one game.

"Eric has been cleared but nobody can tell us, no medical person he has seen can tell us, what happens (to him) on the first contact," said Quinn. "Or how he'll perform. Eric has a certain way when he plays his best. Will there be some caution there now? No one can (offer a) guarantee and we're not about to take all the risk in this. This has all kinds of red flags to it.''

In addition to the uncertainty factor, it seems like trouble follows Lindros wherever he goes.

Eric Lindros' Career Stats
YR	Team	GP	G	A	PTS
92-93	Phi.	61	41	34	75
93-94	Phi.	65	44	53	97
94-95	Phi.	46	29	41	70
95-96	Phi.	73	47	68	115
96-97	Phi.	52	32	47	79
97-98	Phi.	63	30	41	71
98-99	Phi.	71	40	53	93
99-00	Phi.	55	27	32	59

Making a public declaration that he wants to play in a certain city -- like he did on Tuesday when he said he only wants to play in Toronto -- isn't a new tactic for Lindros.

When he was drafted first overall by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Lindros demanded a trade closer to home. He ended up playing for the Oshawa Generals.

When Quebec made him the first overall draft pick in the 1991 Entry Draft, he refused to wear the Nordiques jersey and demanded a trade to another team. One year later, Lindros was playing for the Flyers.

Last season, Lindros questioned the credibility of the team's medical staff for missing the fourth concussion of his career and fought with Clarke in a much-publicized dispute.

It turned so ugly that Lindros vowed to never play for the Flyers again and refused the team's $8.5 million US qualifying offer in July, making him a restricted free agent.

Failure to sign the offer was a matter of pride for Lindros, just like coming back to the NHL.

He knows that he still has some unfinished business in the NHL, and only when he lifts that Stanley Cup in the air will he finally be satisfied.