Brett Lindros

Promising New York Islander right wing Brett Lindros, 20, reluctantly took doctors' advice and retired Wednesday because of the cumulative effects of concussions. "It wasn't my decision," said Lindros, younger brother of Philadelphia Flyer star Eric Lindros. "Three specialists and my family doctor told me my career is over." Lindros had a concussion as a rookie and suffered two more last fall. In two seasons he scored two goals and had five assists in 51 games. He has three years left on a $7.

Hoping Eric Lindros would be available for the Eastern Conference finals, the Philadelphia Flyers learned Sunday that they might not have him at all. Lindros, out since March 13 because of a concussion, suffered another Thursday in a supposedly non-contact scrimmage when he collided with Francis Lessard of the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL. Twenty stitches were needed to close a cut on Lindros' lip. He was bothered by headaches and returned to Toronto for continued therapy.

It wasn't pretty, but Brett Lindros will take it. The New York Islander rookie right wing scored his first NHL goal in Tuesday night's 3-1 victory over the Hartford Whalers at Uniondale, N.Y. "It wasn't the sweetest goal, but it went in," Lindros said. "I was so stuffed up, I couldn't sleep last night. I felt terrible in warm-ups. It's amazing what a goal can do." Derek King and Benoit Hogue scored the other New York goals as the Islanders beat the Whalers for the first time in four tries.

The partnership between right wing Brett Lindros and the New York Islanders was expected to be an enduring, magical one when the franchise made him its first-round draft selection in 1994. Instead, the younger brother of Philadelphia Flyer center Eric Lindros was out of professional hockey by 1996. He suffered three severe concussions at the NHL level and at first found himself unable to sleep at night or to dial the telephone, according to his father Carl.

Brett Lindros followed the lead of his older brother Eric on Saturday when he opted not to play in the Ontario Hockey League. Lindros was not among the scores of teen-age prospects at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens when the Kingston Frontenacs selected him with the second overall pick in the OHL draft. Lindros, a 16-year-old center, told the OHL before the draft that he intends to play college hockey in the United States.

An arbitrator will decide no later than Nov. 12 whether the New York Islanders must pay Brett Lindros the $5.6 million left on the contract he signed in 1994, Lindros's father said. "We were extremely pleased that this is going ahead like this," said Carl Lindros, who serves as his son's agent. The hearing will be held in Chicago. NHL arbitrator John Sands set the Nov. 12 deadline Friday.

The partnership between right wing Brett Lindros and the New York Islanders was expected to be an enduring, magical one when the franchise made him its first-round draft selection in 1994. Instead, the younger brother of Philadelphia Flyer center Eric Lindros was out of professional hockey by 1996. He suffered three severe concussions at the NHL level and at first found himself unable to sleep at night or to dial the telephone, according to his father Carl.

Hoping Eric Lindros would be available for the Eastern Conference finals, the Philadelphia Flyers learned Sunday that they might not have him at all. Lindros, out since March 13 because of a concussion, suffered another Thursday in a supposedly non-contact scrimmage when he collided with Francis Lessard of the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL. Twenty stitches were needed to close a cut on Lindros' lip. He was bothered by headaches and returned to Toronto for continued therapy.

The New York Islanders kept trying to kill a penalty Thursday night, and it just kept killing them. Vladimir Malakhov received a major penalty for high-sticking Boston's Adam Oates in the first period, and by the time the penalty was served the Bruins had three goals en route to a 3-2 victory. "The penalty was the only part of the game that was tough for us," said Islander forward Derek King, whose third-period power-play goal made the score close.

With the second pick of the NHL entry draft today, the Mighty Ducks have a chance to get an almost sure-fire future star. But anyone who wants to see center Radek Bonk, defenseman Ed Jovanovski or goaltender Jamie Storr in a Duck uniform might be a bit uncomfortable to learn that General Manager Jack Ferreira was in the Rams' war room for the NFL draft, watching as they twice traded their first-round pick.

An arbitrator will decide no later than Nov. 12 whether the New York Islanders must pay Brett Lindros the $5.6 million left on the contract he signed in 1994, Lindros's father said. "We were extremely pleased that this is going ahead like this," said Carl Lindros, who serves as his son's agent. The hearing will be held in Chicago. NHL arbitrator John Sands set the Nov. 12 deadline Friday.

Promising New York Islander right wing Brett Lindros, 20, reluctantly took doctors' advice and retired Wednesday because of the cumulative effects of concussions. "It wasn't my decision," said Lindros, younger brother of Philadelphia Flyer star Eric Lindros. "Three specialists and my family doctor told me my career is over." Lindros had a concussion as a rookie and suffered two more last fall. In two seasons he scored two goals and had five assists in 51 games. He has three years left on a $7.

It wasn't pretty, but Brett Lindros will take it. The New York Islander rookie right wing scored his first NHL goal in Tuesday night's 3-1 victory over the Hartford Whalers at Uniondale, N.Y. "It wasn't the sweetest goal, but it went in," Lindros said. "I was so stuffed up, I couldn't sleep last night. I felt terrible in warm-ups. It's amazing what a goal can do." Derek King and Benoit Hogue scored the other New York goals as the Islanders beat the Whalers for the first time in four tries.

Brett Lindros followed the lead of his older brother Eric on Saturday when he opted not to play in the Ontario Hockey League. Lindros was not among the scores of teen-age prospects at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens when the Kingston Frontenacs selected him with the second overall pick in the OHL draft. Lindros, a 16-year-old center, told the OHL before the draft that he intends to play college hockey in the United States.

Philadelphia captain Eric Lindros won't play in the Flyers' game today at Vancouver because of the after-effects of a mild concussion. "The headache has subsided some," Lindros said Wednesday, the day after he suffered a concussion in the Flyers' game against Calgary. "It's not great, but it's certainly not as bad as it was Tuesday night." Lindros said he hopes to be in the Flyers' lineup Sunday in Edmonton.