So the Flyers are doing this thing this year where they are honoring just about everyone despite not having a Stanley Cup winner in this town for 40 years. Since there’s seemingly nothing else to get excited for this Flyers season, however, I can’t say I mind it. There was Kimmo Timonen night, Danny Briere night, Simon Gagne night, and now tonight Rod Brind’Amour will be inducted into the Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame before the Flyers take on the Carolina Hurricanes. And it’s very deservedly so. Sure, he’s yet another guy in Flyers history who had to go somewhere else to win a Cup. But you won’t be able to find a single soul in Philadelphia over the age of 15 that has anything bad to say about Rod The Bod. In Philadelphia, you either love Eric Lindros or you hate the guy. But Brind’Amour wasn’t polarizing like that. The dude was the definition of a work horse and there’s not a single Flyers fan that wasn’t crushed when he was traded to Carolina. With that being said, however, you can’t bring up the Brind’Amour trade without getting around one of the most contentious rumors in Philly sports history. So in honor of Rod Brind’Amour night in Philly, let’s look back on the time that the Big E allegedly scored on Rod the Bod’s wife and essentially ended both of their careers in a Flyers uniform.

So as the story goes, Rod Brind’Amour’s wife was cheating on him with Eric Lindros. Now if true, this breaks all sorts of bro code rules on Lindros’ part. In the world of professional sports, there are only so many people that should be considered strictly off limits. Those are a teammate’s mother, a teammate’s wife, and a coache’s/owner’s daughter (obviously over the age of 18). Anybody else is fair game. But the moment you bang a teammate’s wife, that’s where you immediately stop being teammates and you become fair game yourself for whatever repercussions come your way. Now all the Brind’Amour/Lindros rumors revolve around the same thing; that Lindros was boning Rod’s wife. But after that, that’s where the details start to get a little murky. However, all of them end with Lindros getting his ass kicked and then Brind’Amour shipped off to Carolina.

One version of the tale says that Brind’Amour himself found out that Lindros had been sleeping with his wife and proceeded to follow Big E into the locker room one day and then hit him over the held with a folding chair WWE style. Now this seems a little farfetched and a lot aggressive. Especially since Brind’Amour was chiseled from stone and would probably want to settle the dispute with his fists anyway. However, he does look like a WWE character so who knows. Also, I’ve never had a wife therefore I’ve never had my wife cheat on me with a teammate, but I’d imagine that the amount of anger that takes over your body at that moment would cause you to do just about anything. Anyway, as the legend goes, Lindros was concussed from the altercation and Brind’Amour marched up to Bob Clarke’s office giving him the ultimatum that either Lindros goes or he goes. Shortly there after, Brind’Amour went to the Carolina Hurricanes in return for Keith Primeau.

The second version of the tale says that it wasn’t Brind’Amour himself who took care of business, but instead another teammate decided to beat the shit out of Lindros for him in the locker room for breaking bro code. I’ve heard Rick Tocchet’s name thrown around before and I’ve also heard Recchi’s name thrown around before. But either way, the rumor is that Lindros was essentially jumped in the locker room and got the crap beat out of him (sans folding chair) which left him with yet another concussion and again, Brind’Amour on the move.

Now you can choose to believe whatever you want to believe. There’s a very strong possibility that neither rumor is true and that the Brind’Amour trade was solely a business deal. However, I’m a firm believer in that where there’s smoke there’s fire. And I’m not going to pretend like Eric Lindros was the greatest guy of all time. Almost everyone outside of fans hated the guy. He didn’t get along with refs, he didn’t get along with Bob Clarke, he obviously didn’t get along with the city of Quebec. We’ll never know what really went down in that locker room but I can tell you this much right now. The world needs a Flyers tell-all book to come out in the next 10-15 years. This city may not have seen a Stanley Cup since 1975. But between the Lindros era and guys like Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, there has been all the drama you could ever ask for.

P.S. – Barstool At The Rink: December 17th | Flyers v Canucks | Game + All You Can Eat/Drink for just $98. And a chance to hang out with me and tell me about how much I suck in person. That alone is worth the $98.

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