USA
Today - November 7, 1996
USA
Today - November 7, 1996
uperstars
have overshadowed Rod Brind'Amour throughout his NHL career.
First it was Brett Hull at St. Louis. And now Eric Lindros at Philadelphia.
A groin muscle injury has sidelined Lindros since the beginning of this season, giving Brind'Amour the rare chance to be in the spotlight. But the 6-1, 200 center is critical of his performance when the Flyers need him most.
"With Eric out, they threw me into his role between Johnny (LeClair) and Mikael (Renberg)," says Brind'Amour, in his eighth full NHL season. "I thought it was a great opportunity. I finally had a chance to play with two of the best players in the league. It just hasn't worked out that well."
With four goals and nine points, Brind'Amour has scored less than a point a game for the struggling Flyers, who have a 7-8 record and are trying to keep pace with Florida and the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference.
But Flyers general manager Bob Clarke insists he is not disappointed in Brind'Amour's play with the top line.
"I think Rod's played awful well," says Clarke, who turned down several trade requests for Brind'Amour in the offseason. "He plays the power play. He kills penalties. He takes faceoffs. Linemate John LeClair's had over 50 shots on goal, so obviously he's getting the puck enough. It's not as though they're not getting scoring chances."
The No. 1 line has not approached anything close to the Legion of Doom that Flyers fans expect when Lindros is playing. Flyers coach Terry Murray has been forced to juggle his lines in search of effective combinations.
"The overall production on our team is down," he says. "It's not just Rod or John. It's everybody."
Brind'Amour's appearance on the top line is only temporary.
"When Lindros is back, he's going to be the No. 1 center iceman," Murray says. "It's not that Brind'Amour has blown his chance. He can play his very best and . . ."
Many of Brind'Amour's teammates say he could be the No. 1 center with many other teams. They point to his physical skills, mental toughness, leadership, intensity and work habits.
"I definitely think he can be a superstar," Renberg says. "He is a superstar to me."
Brind'Amour has proved to be a consistent point producer and a durable player. He has scored 85 or more points in three of the past four seasons, with the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season the exception. His personal best was 97 points in 1993-94.
With 253 consecutive games, Brind'Amour has the fourth-longest current playing streak in the NHL behind Trevor Linden of Vancouver, Mark Recchi of Montreal and Doug Weight of Edmonton.
During training camp, Flyers forward Shjon Podein talked with LeClair and forward Pat Falloon about the Brind'Amour trade rumors. "It spurred us to talk about how we really wouldn't want to lose him," Podein says.
Podein smiles and says: "Of course, (we said it) when he wasn't around. You wouldn't want him to get a big head or anything."
Podein says Brind'Amour is valuable because he does the little things necessary to win.
"Whenever people talk about our team, they talk about (Lindros)," Podein says. "But if you went around and talked to every general manager and every player, they would tell you how great a player Rod Brind'Amour is."
Brind'Amour understands and accepts his role in the shadow of Lindros.
But Brind'Amour says he can do more to help the Flyers win games until Lindros comes back, tentatively scheduled for Nov. 21.
"I'm getting my chance now and I haven't been proving it," Brind'Amour says. "I know I can, though. It's just a matter of getting some bounces."