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NHL DRAFTJune 27, 2014Michel TherrienPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA Q. Have you started thinking about next year? MICHEL THERRIEN: Yeah. You know, I truly believe that we learned a lot from last year, and with our young veteran, we learned a lot through the adversity of Playoffs. I took some time off obviously and I'm fresh right now, and we already started working, preparing ourselves for the upcoming season. Q. You must be happy to see Markov re‑sign. MICHEL THERRIEN: Yeah, that's great news for us. He's an important player. He's a veteran, and he's got such‑‑ he's got such an important role, so we're all pleased that he's back with us. Q. Are you hoping (inaudible) gets done soon? MICHEL THERRIEN: Yeah, that's part of the process, I guess, and P.K. we all know that the quality of the player that he is and the quality of the person he is, and what I really like about P.K. this year, he stepped up his game at the right time. He had some fantastic playoff. Q. How did you feel seeing Gerard move down to Florida? MICHEL THERRIEN: Yeah, I got mixed feelings. I'm happy for him that he's got an opportunity to go back as a head coach in the NHL. He did such a good job with us. Meantime I'm sad a little bit to see him leave because we got such great chemistry together, but we're going to take our time, do the process. I'm convinced that we're going to find the right guy to replace Gerard. There's some good hockey people out there that's available, and the process already has been started, and we'll find someone. Q. Yesterday the GM said that there were some people inside that you'd look at first. Is that your feeling, as well? MICHEL THERRIEN: Yeah, since we heard the news that Gerard got hired Monday by the Panthers, we start to put the list together, and definitely we're going to look from people inside. But the most important thing is to get the right guy who's going to fit with our hockey team. Q. The way the season ended, do you feel you were ahead of schedule? MICHEL THERRIEN: It's a good question. You know, when you're that close‑‑ I'm still disappointed about not reaching the Stanley Cup Final. But it's a process, and we've got to understand that next year the challenge will be there. The challenge will be there to make the Playoffs. There's other good teams, and everything has got to fall at the right place at the right time, no injuries. Sometimes you can't control. We got a lot of depth last year, and we're using that depth. But I like the progress that we did honestly the last two years. Q. What's the biggest need you have right now? MICHEL THERRIEN: Well, as a team, we're looking, and I'm sure we'll discuss a lot with Marc Bergevin, and Marc is always looking to improve the hockey team. That's for sure. Any position, whether it be forwards or defense, he's always looking to improve the team. Q. Did you see the kids, the defenseman (inaudible)? MICHEL THERRIEN: Well, we'll see at camp. Their performance will dictate if they're going to make it. But there's a progress regarding the way that they've been playing the last two years, and we like that progress. It's going to be for them a big camp, important camp for them. Q. You said yesterday you're still disappointed. Do you think back to the Conference Finals? MICHEL THERRIEN: Of course. If you look at the big picture, yes, we're happy about the progress that we did. But again, at the same time, when you're two wins away to reach the Stanley Cup Final, yes, you're going to be disappointed. But when you're looking at the big picture of our club over the last two years, I'm pleased with the progress that we did over two years. Q. Where do you see Tokarski fitting in next year? MICHEL THERRIEN: Well, we'll see at the camp. We'll see at the camp. Q. Does that put you in a difficult position with Peter? MICHEL THERRIEN: You know what, like I said before, the decision that we took to go with Tokarski, there was nothing that was a feeling that we got, but Peter is one of the best backups in the NHL. So I've got a lot of respect for Peter Budaj, and every single player, there's a reason why we got such a good year, because everyone contributed in their own ways, whether it was going to be during the regular season or during the playoff. There's a reason why we got that type of success, and everyone participated in that success. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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