Skating alone is an art. Doing it on a substance? I don't know. That's got to be tough.
Competitive spirit is still at a premium. The more you win, the better you play, the more money you make, so they all have that in mind.
He brings something special. I don't know what it is, but if you ask him, you couldn't understand his answer.
We're in a tough situation because of teenage children, and then we have a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old, so my family and my responsibilities is sort of a juggle.
You miss the ball you do not hit 100%
It's just amazing how many companies suddenly want you to hold up their products after you've held up the Stanley Cup.
I love everything about hockey.
The only shot I ALWAYS miss, is the one I don't take!
At the end of the day everybody lost. We almost crippled our industry. It was very disappointing what happened.
I can't remember the last time I went to a game and there was a fight. I think they fight more in baseball now than they do in hockey.
I think sports for kids is the greatest thing in the world because it teaches you how to share, about winning and losing and pressure. But I don't think you should force your kid to become a professional athlete.
When I broke into professional hockey at 17 I was told that I was too small and too slow and I wouldn't make the NHL. Now it's kind of flip-flopped and the sense is I can't be a good coach because I was a great athlete.
I think the greatest thing about playing obviously is winning, and you can't replace that experience with anything.
I miss all the shots I don't take.
In one sense we are a favorite because we won a gold medal in 2002.
The greatest thing about playing obviously is winning, and you can't replace that experience with anything.
It's kind of ironic when I broke in at 17, I was told I was too small, too slow and I wouldn't make the NHL
People in general want to build somebody up and then try to knock them down. They always root for the underdog.
Everything I did in hockey, I worked for.
That's the hardest part of this whole process. The best part is picking the players and the worst part is telling basically five players they are not going to play tonight.
It really doesn't matter or concern me what people are saying or who thinks who is the favorite. The bottom line is you have to play.
I think a lot of parents live their lives through the kids. Because they didn't make it [achieve something], they want their kids to make it. It puts a lot of undue pressure on the kids.
Hockey is my life. I love every minute of it.
I grew up such a fan. It was my life. Everything I did was hockey related and everything I have is because of hockey and the NHL.
There's no perfect coach in the world. Coaches are human, too. Mistakes are made. But, fundamentally, if you're sound, you eliminate as many mistakes as possible.
I think the Americans are ready to play, they want to beat us. I think that players like Chris Chelios and his leadership over there goes a long way.
I can remember hockey. It was my life, my passion. It's what I love the most.
Not doing it is certainly the best way to not getting it
I don't think any one person will ever be bigger than the game.
You miss every shot you don't take.
I'm probably the only guy in hockey who can win a scoring title and everybody is saying I had a bad year. I don't worry about it.
When you're playing an exhibition, you're kind of letting everyone get an opportunity.
It's easier to lose than to win.
The Power of WHO provides great lessons about how to succeed in business and in life. If you surround yourself with quality people and great friends, the sky's the limit.
It doesn't matter what I think. It doesn't matter what other people think. You have to get on the ice and participate and play and the best team wins.
You know, I've held women and babies and jewels and money, but nothing will ever feel as good as holding that Cup.
Sometimes people ask, 'Are hockey fights real?' I say, 'If they weren't, I'd get in more of them.
Maybe it wasn't the talent the Lord gave me-maybe it was the passion.
No matter who you are, we're creatures of habit. The better your habits are, the better they will be in pressure situations.
I missed 100% of the shots I didn't take
One hundred percent of shots not taken don't go in.
You'll never catch me bragging about goals, but I'll talk all you want about my assists.
Only one thing is ever guaranteed, that is that you will definitely not achieve the goal if you don't take the shot.
The day I stop giving is the day I stop receiving. The day I stop learning is the day I stop growing. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
My kids are no different than anyone else's - they tend to disagree with everything I say!
Growing up, I was always the small guy.
It's an honour and a thrill and a privilege just to play in the NHL.
Listen, everything I have in my life is because of the NHL and because of hockey, and I love the game and I loved every minute of being a player, I loved coaching, I loved being involved in the NHL.
I'm very proud of our NHL players. I think they all handle themselves extremely well and they all work really hard.
I get a feeling about where a teammate is going to be. A lot of times, I can turn and pass without even looking.
I knew at a young age, whether I was playing baseball or hockey or lacrosse, that my teammates were counting on me, whether it be to strike the last batter out in a baseball game or score a big goal in a hockey game.
Most people marry their mother. I married my father.
By no means could I play at the level of these kids who play in the NHL now but as 50-year-olds go, I feel really good and I feel blessed that I'm still healthy.
And people who know me would tell you that away from hockey I'm really not that competitive.
I couldn't beat people with my strength; I don't have a hard shot; I'm not the quickest skater in the league. My eyes and my mind have to do most of the work.
I just like to keep my money in the bank; I'm not a big risk-taker. I don't know anything about the stock market... I stay away from things I don't know anything about.
When I was 5 and playing against 11-year-olds, who were bigger, stronger, faster, I just had to figure out a way to play with them.
The biggest difference between L.A. and Edmonton was that instead of people looking at me I was looking at them.
The only way a kid is going to practice is if it's total fun for him... and it was for me.
I wasn't naturally gifted in terms of size and speed; everything I did in hockey I worked for, and that's the way I'll be as a coach.
The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it.
Ninety percent of hockey is mental and the other half is physical.
Hockey is a unique sport in the sense that you need each and every guy helping each other and pulling in the same direction to be successful.
Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.
A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.
You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.
I don't like my hockey sticks touching other sticks, and I don't like them crossing one another, and I kind of have them hidden in the corner. I put baby powder on the ends. I think it's essentially a matter of taking care of what takes care of you.
I think that from the time you start playing sports as a child you see that your responsibility to your team is to play the best that you can play as an individual... and yet, not take anything away from being part of a team.
If we're going to change the game it has to start at eight, nine and 10 years old. When we were that age we'd go to the pond or backyard rink and throw a puck on the ice and play five on five, or seven on seven. You get this creativity and this imagination that comes from within, just having fun on the pond. Now kids are so focused on team play, and the coaches are so focused on positioning. You can't change it at the NHL level.
I'm not sure Mario is going to get accolafes he deserves, especially from outside the game. But from within, the players, the people who follow closely, realize exactly what he's broughtto the table, exactly what he has done. People tend to forget... hockey was dying in Pittsburgh before he got there. I played there. It was almost dead. I'm sorry, but the NHL would not have a franchise in Pittsburgh today had Mario not come along. Think about it, no hockey in Pittsburgh.
As a player, you have one responsibility, to focus yourself and be ready for the game. As a coach, your responsibility is to get 20 guys ready and have them all on the same page. If you can't get every guy ready every night, you're going to struggle.
Thankfully, in my youth I had the best financial advisor a son could ask for: my dad Walter. When I got that first signing bonus in 1978, Dad took my cheque, announced, 'This is what we're going to do,' and bought an annuity with it.
I played everything. I played lacrosse, baseball, hockey, soccer, track and field. I was a big believer that you played hockey in the winter and when the season was over you hung up your skates and you played something else.
What you want to do with your best players is, it doesn't matter how many goals and assists they get, but when they get goals and assists. The best players get them at the most important times, and that's when we need those guys to come through.
I get a lot of parents coming up to me, telling me they are grooming their kids to be professional athletes. I'm really against that. I think it's a great life, and yeah, you can lead them in that direction. I think a lot of parents live their lives through the kids. Because they didn't make it, they want their kids to make it. It puts a lot of undue pressure on the kids.
When I played in a 21-team league, there were six or seven goalies who were just average, and the equipment and pads were smaller. I came in the right era. I played for the right team. It was all speed, and creativity and imagination.
My best friend had a hockey scholarship at Ohio State, so I would get a couple of pairs at the beginning of the season and send them down to him. They practised two hours a day. He'd skate in them for three weeks then ship them back.
Look at guys like Larry Bird and George Brett and John McEnroe; that's what they did in their careers. They all wanted to be the guy under the microscope late in the game or late in the match. So you just take on that know-how that that's part of your responsibility, and you learn that's what makes it exciting. That's what makes it fun!
