Hockey Player Quotes

“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.”

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

“Most people marry their mother. I married my father.”

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

“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.”

“And people who know me would tell you that away from hockey I'm really not that competitive.”

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

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

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

“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.”

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

“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!”

“I have absolutely no complaints about my life. But people think I got handed everything, all this kind of fell in my lap, that I was just God-gifted with all this talent. I wanted people to realize it's a lot tougher than just waking up one day and you're in the NHL.”

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

“I get a feeling about where a teammate is going to be. A lot of times, I can turn and pass without even looking.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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."”

“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."”

“Everything I did in hockey, I worked for.”

“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.”

“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.”