Mystery surrounds former NHL superstar Eric Lindros.

Three sources with the NHL Players Association have told Metro they are unhappy with the work – or lack of work – from Lindros as the union’s ombudsman this season and are discussing the notion of dismissing him early in the new year.

At the same time, sources outside the NHLPA have told Metro that Lindros is dealing with health problems not usually associated with anyone as young as him.

Lindros, 35, couldn’t be reached for comment and his father and ex-agent, Carl Lindros, told an NHLPA employee that he isn’t interested in discussing his son with Metro.

Glen Healy of the NHLPA told Metro he has not seen Lindros in at least three weeks, comments echoed by several other union employees.

“Eric’s not easily accessible,” an NHLPA employee said. “You can’t leave him voice mail anywhere and he seldom comes into our office. We haven’t seen him in a very long time.”

CBC hockey analyst Mike Milbury, a former NHL general manager, coach and player, said the other day he has information that the NHLPA feels Lindros has been doing a poor job as ombudsman and has been causing problems between the players and executive director Paul Kelly.

Ex-NHLer Steve Larmer, a member of the NHLPA’s advisory board, told Metro he wasn’t “at liberty to either confirm or deny anything at all about Eric.”

Both Larmer and Healy said they weren’t aware of any health issues affecting Lindros.

Another NHLPA executive, however, said Lindros has put on “an unbelievable amount of weight” since retiring as a player after last season.

The Big E, as he is known, spent 13 seasons in the NHL. He joined the NHLPA in the newly created role of ombudsman before this season and was also supposed to double as a non-voting member of the executive board.

• MLB Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins of Chatham, Ont., will be among the ex-Cubs superstars at the Blackhawks’ Winter Classic at Chicago’s Wrigley Field tomorrow.

“Hockey was my first love,” Fergie said. “I was a Junior B defenceman.”
• The da-da-da-da-duh Hockey Theme music finally will include lyrics tonight, thanks to the Barenaked Ladies. Check it out at TSN tonight.

Marty York is Metro's national sports columnist as well as an instructor at the College of Sports Media in Toronto. He can be heard regularly on Vancouver radio station CKNW with Sportstalk host Dan Russell. Contact Marty at marty.york@metronews.ca