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Photo by Craig Robertson / Postmedia Network

He was six-foot-four and 240 pounds in his prime — comparable to an NFL linebacker. He was also fast and skilled with the puck, a goal-scorer in an enforcer’s body. And he was mean, the type of player who went around as though he had an outstanding beef with everyone in an opposing jersey.

“He’s kind of like a Ryan Reaves on steroids, with hands like Mitch Marner,” the 23-year-old Laughton said, laughing. “I was younger, but I still remember just how dominant he was. I actually remember the stick he used to use, a black Bauer with three pieces of tape in the middle.”

It was a one-of-a-kind tape job for a one of a kind player. Lindros didn’t just score 865 points in 760 games, he also racked up 1,398 penalty minutes and fought everyone from Matt Barnaby and Jeff Beaukeboom to Scott Stevens and Marty McSorley. It’s not a stretch to suggest that there wasn’t anyone like him when he entered the league in 1992 and that there hasn’t been another like him since he hung up the skates in 2007.

With his No. 88 jersey officially retired by the Flyers on Thursday, there will never be.

“He did it every which way,” Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds said. “He could power through you, stickhandle around you and if you wanted to drop your gloves, he’d drop the gloves and beat the crap out of you. He was a special player and obviously that’s why he’s having his number retired.”

“He was synonymous with the Flyers,” said Maple Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk, who grew up across the river in New Jersey and spent the first three years of his career in Philadelphia. “Just the style of game he played fit in perfectly with the organization and what they were looking for.”