Offer To Lindros Has A Catch

Eric Lindros is not guaranteed $8.5 million next season even if he signs the qualifying offer the Philadelphia Flyers submitted to him last month.

The qualifying offer includes a two-way contract that would allow the Flyers to send Lindros to their AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, and pay him a minor-league salary of $85,000.

Lindros, still recovering from his sixth concussion, would have to clear waivers before playing for the Phantoms. Any team claiming him would have to pay the $100,000 waiver price, and pick up the remainder of his hefty contract.

Neither Lindros nor his father/agent, Carl Lindros, could be reached for comment Friday.

In making the two-way offer, the Flyers invoked a clause in the collective bargaining agreement which states that a qualifying offer to a restricted free agent can be a two-way offer if the player has played fewer than 60 games the previous season.

Lindros played 55 games last season because of various injuries, including four concussions sustained in slightly more than four months.

©2000 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed