Dan chats with current Rangers and former Islanders beatwriter Colin Stephenson about Brett Lindros, who was expected to be a star but was forced to retire far too soon due to concussions. Following in the footsteps of his brother Eric, who was already a force in the NHL, Brett was a charming, well-spoken boy in a man's body when the Islanders selected him in the first round of the 1994 draft. With a lockout and disastrous previous season draining the customer base, the team put Lindros on the ice immediately, where he was a willing fight combatant but not much of a scorer. By Year Two, a series of head injuries became too much for him to bear, and at the age of just 20, he had to leave the game and the team that had hoped he would lead their next generation. Colin talks about covering this "eventful" Islanders era and about his dealings with Lindros before the "shattered dream" of his career had to be ended. The Islanders made a lot of mistakes back then, mostly off the ice, and a kid with a lot of promise paid the price for them.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices