TORONTO, ON – The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is proud to announce that Oshawa Generals and Ontario Hockey League (OHL) alumnus Eric Lindros has been ranked No. 7 on the CHL’s Top 50 Players of the Last 50 Years list, a marquee initiative of the CHL’s 50th anniversary season.
The countdown recognizes the greatest players from the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) since 1975-76, celebrating the stars who have defined major junior hockey over the past five decades. As part of the initiative, a panel of media members first selected the Top 50 Players of the Last 50 Years. The final ranking order was then determined using a weighted formula that combined media and fan voting to rank the players from No. 1 through No. 50.
Lindros stands as one of the most dominant players in CHL history, with a legacy built through his powerhouse tenure with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, a decorated NHL career, and a long list of international accomplishments with Team Canada.
A native of London, Ont., Lindros played parts of three seasons with the Generals from 1989-92, piling up 216 points — 97 goals and 119 assists — in just 95 career regular-season games. His combination of size, skill, scoring ability, and physical presence made him one of the most impactful players to ever compete in the OHL.
As a rookie in 1989-90, Lindros recorded 36 points (17 goals and 19 assists) in 25 regular-season games before matching that total in the postseason with 36 points (18 goals and 18 assists) in 17 playoff contests. His performance helped lead Oshawa to the 1990 OHL championship and the 1990 Memorial Cup title, where he was named to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team.
The following season, Lindros delivered one of the most dominant campaigns in OHL history. In 1990-91, he led the league with 149 points (71 goals and 78 assists) in 57 regular-season games, earning OHL First All-Star Team honours while capturing the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the league’s scoring champion. Lindros’ 1990-91 season also saw him sweep several of the CHL and OHL’s top individual honours. He was named the OHL’s Most Valuable Player with the Red Tilson Trophy, earned CHL Player of the Year honours, and received the CHL Top Prospect Award ahead of the 1991 NHL Draft.
During that same 1990-91 campaign, Lindros set the OHL single-season record for game-winning goals with 16, a mark that remains tied for the league record. He added 38 points (18 goals and 20 assists) in 16 playoff games that spring.
Following his standout OHL career, Lindros was selected first overall by the Québec Nordiques in the first round of the 1991 NHL Draft. He went on to play 760 regular-season NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Dallas Stars from 1992-2007, recording 865 points — 372 goals and 493 assists — along with 1,398 penalty minutes.
Lindros made an immediate impact in the NHL, earning a spot on the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1993. With Philadelphia, he became one of the league’s premier power forwards and centred the Flyers’ famed “Legion of Doom” line alongside John LeClair and Mikael Renberg.
His NHL career peaked individually in 1994-95, when he won both the Hart Trophy as NHL Most Valuable Player and the Ted Lindsay Award as the league’s most outstanding player as voted by the NHLPA. That same season, Lindros was named to the NHL First All-Star Team, and he later earned NHL Second All-Star Team honours in 1996.
From his NHL debut with Philadelphia in 1992-93 through the 1999-2000 season, Lindros averaged 1.36 points per game, trailing only Laval Voisins (QMJHL) alumnus Mario Lemieux and Jaromír Jágr over that span. He also led the 1997 Stanley Cup Playoffs in scoring with 26 points in 19 games, helping the Flyers reach the Stanley Cup Final, and produced 1.14 points per game in the playoffs over his career with Philadelphia.
Internationally, Lindros built one of the most decorated résumés of any Canadian player of his era. He represented Canada at the World Juniors three times, winning gold in 1990 and 1991, and later added Canada Cup gold in 1991. Lindros also competed in three Olympic Winter Games, earning silver in 1992 and helping Canada capture gold in 2002.
Lindros was Canada’s all-time World Juniors points leader with 31 points until Regina Pats (WHL) alumnus Connor Bedard surpassed the mark in 2023. He also represented Canada at the IIHF World Championship, leading the team in scoring at the 1993 tournament.
In recognition of his impact in Oshawa, Lindros was named the Generals’ right winger on the club’s All-Time Team in 1999. On March 6, 2008, the Generals retired his No. 88, making it the second retired number in franchise history, while the City of Oshawa declared the occasion “Eric Lindros Day.”
Lindros was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016 and was named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players in 2017.
