Athlete Quotes

Hockey is my life. I love every minute of it.

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.

It's easier to lose than to win.

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.

Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.

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.

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!

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.

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.

I think the greatest thing about playing obviously is winning, and you can't replace that experience with anything.

The only shot I ALWAYS miss, is the one I don't take!

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 skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.

I miss all the shots I don't take.

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 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.

It's an honour and a thrill and a privilege just to play in the NHL.

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.

Your friends, family, and kids have to understand that's your priority. It's the only way you can be successful.

Everything I did in hockey, I worked for.

I heard people say, 'Why would he want to do this?' My answer is 'Why not?' It is what I love. It's what I know.

One hundred percent of shots not taken don't go in.

Good players skate to the puck. Great players skate to where the puck is going to be.

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.

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.

At the end of the day everybody lost. We almost crippled our industry. It was very disappointing what happened.

When you're playing an exhibition, you're kind of letting everyone get an opportunity.

I love everything about hockey.

A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.

Not doing it is certainly the best way to not getting it

Only one thing is ever guaranteed, that is that you will definitely not achieve the goal if you don't take the shot.

The biggest difference between L.A. and Edmonton was that instead of people looking at me I was looking at them.

My kids are no different than anyone else's - they tend to disagree with everything I say!

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.

Eight days ago, we were the toast of the town. Eight days later we're Thanksgiving turkeys.

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 last year I was playing, I asked the stick boy to get me a Diet Coke and he said, "Really?" But I always had one on the bench because that's what I did in 1979 when there wasn't Gatorade. If you needed energy you went and got a Snickers or a Kit Kat. Nobody knew any better.

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.

It's really hard. And it's harder today because of the salary cap. It starts in September at training camp - getting every guy on the same page, being as mentally and physically as focused as you can be. Then in April and May, you basically spend eight weeks practising, watching video and playing games. That's your life.

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.

Canadian players have started to put more of an importance on the World Championships in the sense that as soon as they lose, they are called, they want to go play and they don't go only on the basis of if they are injured.

No matter who you are, we're creatures of habit. The better your habits are, the better they will be in pressure situations.

Listen, first of all, my wife is my best friend. My love for her is deeper than anything. The reality is, I'm not involved, I wasn't involved and I'm not going to be involved. Am I concerned for both of them Sure there's concern from me. I'm more worried about them than me. I'm like you guys, I'm trying to figure it all out.

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

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.

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.

Hullie's a lot like a garbage can. You step on the pedal with your foot and the top opens up.

The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it.

The best players in the game want the responsibility of being the best player. The reality is the game has changed from now back to '87. It's a lot tighter checking. The players are better today. So, that makes it harder for him just in that fact. We can't rely solely on Mario [Lemieux] to carry this team. We're not relying on that.

You miss every shot you don't take.

When people come up to me and say, "I was at your Game 7 in the playoffs in Toronto," or, "I saw your first goal in the NHL," that triggers memories. But I don't sit around my kitchen table and tell my kids, "You know, one year I got 92 goals."

You miss the ball you do not hit 100%

The game is played out of instinct, but everyone on the ice has habits - good and bad. So the key to the game is to exploit the bad habits of your opponent.

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 have recall. I don't know why or how. I had a guy once who said he played against me in novice [league, for kids under nine], for the Detroit Lasers. And I said, "Oh yeah, we beat you in the tournament, 8-1 and I think I scored seven goals, and the goalie was left-handed." And he was, "Oh my God. I was the goalie!" .

Most people marry their mother. I married my father.

I missed 100% of the shots I didn't take

I really wanted to write a book [99: Stories of the Game] on the tradition and history of the league, where kids can pick it up and read it and learn things and say, "Geez, I didn't know that. That's pretty cool."

A lot of times, I can turn and pass without even looking.

I can remember hockey. It was my life, my passion. It's what I love the most.