As the banner was raised to the rafters last Thursday evening at the General Motors Centre, everything appeared absolutely perfect in the hockey world. Eric Lindros looked on proudly with his No. 88—complete with a portrait on the banner of how he appeared in uniform during his stay with the Oshawa Generals—in full view of an appreciative audience and an admiring current Generals roster.

And yet, dare we say, there were more than a few eyebrows raised by the Oshawa sporting faithful when it was announced the number worn by Lindros would be retired on this very special occasion.

Reasons vary but the two most prominent brought to our attention were 1) his short tenure in an Oshawa uniform and 2) the absence of another very popular player whose banner has yet to be raised.

The first is most perplexing. Lindros arrived in Oshawa following a trade with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in December of 1989. When he played his final game with the Generals in 1992, Lindros amassed a very productive 97 goals and 216 points in 95 regular season outings. Oh, did we mention a Memorial Cup crown that ended a 40-year drought?

When Lindros heard Oshawa was where he was headed, the gifted junior and pro sniper gave the thumbs up. And we are aware there were many, many Oshawa junior fans dancing a two-step with thumbs way up when it was learned the potentially best junior hockey player in the world would be sporting a Generals jersey.

As for other junior centres, envy was the operative word. Two hecklers below the visiting broadcast booth verbally rode Lindros for the full 60 minutes of a game in Sudbury. And yet, as Lindros signed autographs outside the team bus after the contest, guess which two were third in line, pen and paper in hand in search of a signature? The presence of Lindros in Oshawa made all of us the toast of the town.

The second argument is a concern, although it should by no means reflect on the retirement of Lindros’ number. The reality is that Bobby Orr does deserve to be fittingly recognized as one of the best to ever wear a Generals’ uniform. There is certainly a vacancy in the rafters for a banner that, rightfully, would appear No. 2 and not the No. 4 we have become accustomed to seeing while he performed with the Boston Bruins.

The “unofficial” word is that Orr has indeed been approached about a special night in his honour. The Parry Sound native has declined with thanks, citing his preference to be mentioned in the same breath as team members, rather than having the full attention focused on him.

We are confident Orr will one day have his day in the sun at GM Centre. Until then, enjoy viewing that No. 88 banner each time you visit the Oshawa arena. The Big ‘E’ had all Generals fans blushing with pride while he was here, to say nothing of the contribution made on the ice prior to turning his attention to a professional
career.