No Way, Broadway

Here we go again. Leave it to the New York Rangers to try their luck on concussion magnet Eric Lindros. You think they would've went to school on their recent free agent signing disasters and trading blunders, but with every move G.M. Glen Sather makes it's apparent that New York's favourite punctuation point is the question mark.

Glen Sather gained a reputation in Edmonton as being the best G.M. in hockey. He was the architect of the Oilers' dynasty of the 1980's, signing and drafting current and future hall of famers such as Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, and Paul Coffey. Sather's G.M. savvy must've been lost with his luggage when he moved from Edmonton to New York, because he has yet to make a significant imprint on a disappointing Rangers team.

Even diehard Rangers' fans are left scratching their heads after the team traded for Eric Lindros this week, and well they should. Sather gave up Jan Hlavac, Kim Johnsson, and Pavel Brendl to get Lindros. Hlavac scored 28 goals last season for the hapless Rangers, while Johnsson and Brendl are blue-chip prospects.

Now, young players are always a crapshoot for NHL teams; junior hockey dominance rarely translates to NHL success. The Flyers' risk of trading for three young players is nowhere near as big as the risk the Rangers took when they traded for and signed the 28-year-old Lindros to a 4-year deal that could be worth close to 40 million dollars--if he can stay healthy.

That last "if" is quite possibly the biggest "if" in the NHL this upcoming season. After 16 months off, a myriad of doctors have given Lindros a clean bill of health, but after six bone-chilling concussions, how many more big hits can the big man take? As a player who has an inexplicable tendency of skating around the rink with his head down, Lindros is a concussion risk every time he steps on the ice.

No one is questioning the Big E's star power--the man averages the third most points-per-game played in NHL history behind Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky--but this shooting star could burnout after one more meeting with Scott Stevens' cement shoulder.

Even the Riddler's spandex costume doesn't have as many question marks as the Rangers seem to have. How will Theo Fleury perform after missing the latter part of last season--his second season with the Rangers--because of a voluntary stint in substance abuse rehab? Fleury was arguably the best player in the NHL last season when he was playing, but was that a sign of things to come? He was brutal during his opening season on Broadway--the fans gave him few curtain calls--but he has been a consistent scorer for most of his career.

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