Eric Lindros trade

The Eric Lindros trade was the culmination of a holdout by Eric Lindros from the Quebec Nordiques of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Nordiques selected Lindros in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft with the first overall selection, but Lindros refused to play for them. After holding out from Quebec for a year, the Nordiques agreed to two trades involving Lindros at the onset of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, one with the Philadelphia Flyers and one with the New York Rangers. An arbitrator ruled in favor of the Flyers on June 30, 1992.

Lindros played for the Flyers until 2001. He won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's Most Valuable Player and helped increase the popularity of hockey in Philadelphia. However, the Flyers did not win a Stanley Cup with Lindros. The Nordiques, who moved to Denver, Colorado, and became the Colorado Avalanche, won the 1996 and 2001 Stanley Cups with contributions from players acquired in the Lindros trade, including Peter Forsberg and Mike Ricci.

As an amateur, Lindros played junior ice hockey for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He had been selected by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL, but he refused to play for them, and was traded to Oshawa. This led to a rule change that allowed players to play closer to their home. He led the Generals to the Memorial Cup in 1990, and won the Red Tilson Trophy, given to the Most Outstanding Player in the OHL, in 1991. That year, he was named the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Player of the Year and won the CHL Top Draft Prospect Award. Lindros was considered the best prospect available in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, and received the nickname "The Next One", as a possible successor to Wayne Gretzky, known as "The Great One".