Dr. Thomas Pashby told the Globe and Mail Tuesday that Lindros should retire rather than risk getting his ninth career concussion.
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- Player bio: Eric Lindros
Lindros suffered his eighth and most recent concussion on Jan. 28. The New York Rangers forward plans to be re-examined in Montreal Tuesday by concussion specialist Dr. Karen Johnston. She must clear him before he can begin working out or resume his on-ice career.
Eric Lindros is sidelined with his eighth career concussion. (CP Photo)
Lindros remains upbeat about a possible return to action this season.
"If she gives me the OK, I'll be on the first flight down," the former first overall draft pick told the New York Post. "I'll let the exam take its course, but with the way I've been feeling the last week, I'm optimistic."
"I'm not going to be cleared (Tuesday) to play – that's not the purpose of the visit – but I'm optimistic I'll be given the approval to begin physical workouts."
However, Pashby, who was instrumental in making full face protection mandatory in minor hockey, believes the time is now for Lindros to call it an NHL career.
"I know Eric's mother and dad, and if I was his grandfather, I'd say hang them up and find something else, like your brother Brett did," Pashby told the Globe.
Brett, Eric's younger brother, was forced to retire from hockey in 1996 at age 20 following a series of concussions.
"Every time you have (a concussion), it reduces the amount of impact needed for the successive concussion, until all it takes is an ordinary bump," said Pashby. "We don't know how many it takes to be punch-drunk,"
Lindros' father told the Globe Pashby was speaking with good intentions, but noted the 88-year-old physician is not his son's doctor.
Lindros has scored 10 goals and 22 points over 39 games this season. He is in the final guaranteed season of a contract he signed with the Rangers after being dealt to New York from the Philadelphia Flyers in August 2001.
The Rangers have a $10.25 million US option for Lindros next season, but it is believed New York is unlikely to pick it up due to his medical history.
Lindros suffered six concussions between May 7, 1998, and May 26, 2000, a history that undoubtedly hastened his departure from the Philadelphia Flyers.
He played eight seasons in Philadelphia before missing all of 2000-01 recovering from a concussion suffered when hit by Scott Stevens of the New Jersey Devils in Game 7 of the 2000 Eastern Conference final.
with files from Canadian Press
