Upon Further Review

Today Eric Lindros hangs up the blades, ending what will go down in history as one of the most controversial careers in the history of the NHL.

From his refusal to don the Quebec Nordiques' jersey at the 1991 NHL draft, to his public criticism of the Philadelphia Flyers medical staff, to the multiple concussions, the Big E leaves behind not only some huge numbers but also a long-running drama that began – at least publicly - in his junior hockey days, when he refused to play for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

The question now about Lindros centres around the hall of fame. For me, it’s obvious: he’s in.

I know it’s cliché, and been said a million times but there is still something special about a Saturday night in Montreal when the Leafs play the Habs. It’s tough to explain, unless you’ve been there and felt it. Kind of like asking an old sax player to explain jazz… “if you have to ask, you’ll never know”.

If you’ve never made the trip to la belle province for an Original Six match-up on a Saturday night, do yourself the favour and book it now. The city completely revolves around the game and with good reason: in Montreal a Habs/Leafs game is an event. It’s not just another game on the schedule. People build their entire weekends based on the game. It occupies every conversation and interaction and while the Patriots/Colts game may have been the most anticipated sporting event this past weekend, you’d never know if you were in Montreal on the weekend.

Just a quick one today, guys. I’m running a little behind since I’m off right after the show this afternoon to Montreal to take in Leafs-Habs game Saturday. Speaking of the Canadiens did you watch last night’s Habs-Flyers game? Great action, amazing drama, the sidebar stories with Saku Koivu and Daniel Briere just an amazing night and an even better game.

I’m glad captain Saku Koivu is taking the high road in this French language drama in Quebec.

If you missed the story, Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois has come out insisting that the Canadiens make their players take French language lessons if they are going to play with the Habs.

The Finnish captain himself was called out directly and asked publicly why he doesn’t address the media and the fans in French, to which he responded, “Bob Gainey was a model during the time he was captain. He made the effort to learn French. When I arrived here, I had to learn English and it took me some time before mastering it. In an ideal world, I should also speak French. But I'm not perfect in that sense.”

A model answer from a model captain. Good for Koivu.

Montreal Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau may want to think twice about his comments regarding eligible players for the shootout He he was miffed Saturday night after the Penguins' Sergei Gonchar was assessed a minor penalty in the final minute of overtime but was still eligible to take a shot on Cary Price during the shootout.

Carbo would like to see the NHL amend the rule so that players who are serving a penalty at the conclusion of overtime automatically are ruled ineligible to take part in the shootout.

Let’s think about that for a second.

The Calgary Flames re-signed netminder Miikka Kiprusoff to a six-year $35-million US contract yesterday.

Nice deal for the Flames, but how do you feel if you’re Leyland Irving - the Flames goaltender of the future? Irving could be ready as early as two seasons from now to play consistently in the NHL, but he'll have to wait until either Kiprusoff’s contract expires or the Finn gets injured. Otherwise, Irving will have to beat Kiprusoff out for the job.

Plenty was made over the weekend about the hit by the Flyers' Randy Jones on the Bruins' Patrice Bergeron, and for obvious reasons.

The hit did look vicious - an attack from behind towards a helpless player in a vulnerable position. But how many times in the past couple of seasons have we seen players "showing their numbers" at the boards in order to encourage a dangerous play that will almost always draw a penalty?

Let’s not get too excited about yesterday’s story about the Toronto Maple Leafs reportedly trying to pull a fast one and get OHL phenom John Tavares into the system.

Creative thinking on the part of Leafs GM John Ferguson, but don’t count on this one ever happening. The AHL has a rule similar to the NHL one that prohibits underage players from entering the league, which would disqualify Tavares from playing in the 2008-09 season. And further, I can’t see John Tavares foregoing two years of hockey in the NHL in exchange for a bigger paycheque in the minors.

Newly minted NHLPA executive director Paul Kelly did himself and his union a lot of good by making the media rounds Wednesday and saying a lot of the right things that just about everybody wants to hear.

He’s not keen on labour strife or opting out of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (amen to that) and also understands that while there are limits to the "partnership" between the league and the players, there is a closer relationship between the two sides that needs to be respected.

Today on Hockey Night in Canada Radio (Sirius channel 122, 4 p.m. ET) we'll talk to the new executive director of the NHL Players Association, Paul Kelly, about the future of the players union.

Kelly looks to have his work cut out for him trying to reassemble a very fractured union while acquainting himself with the Collective Bargaining Agreement and deciding whether it's in the PA’s interests to opt out of the deal in two years, which they have the right to do.