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BRIDGESTONE NHL WINTER CLASSIC: BLACKHAWKS v CAPITALSDecember 31, 2014Barry TrotzWASHINGTON, D.C. Q. What were your impressions on the conditions of the ice the glare. A lot of people have been talking about that, but you were able to get on the ice about an hour before? BARRY TROTZ: Yeah, I think that the ice is phenomenal. It really was. I wasn't sure what to expect. Dan Craig and his staff did a great job. Obviously, they're getting really good at it, they have done a number of these events in different conditions and he's the best in the business. So the ice will not be a problem. Boards will not be a problem. The glare, we were out earlier and everyone said there was a lot of glare, but towards the end it settled down. So, roughly a half hour ago, probably, the game would start and I think it will be fine. I think we have come up with a, maybe a little bit of a solution, if it is a little bit bright, we'll probably switch ends or something like that for the 10‑minute mark. Chicago and us have been talking about a possibility of that. So, but I think it will be fine. It will be, if it stays gorgeous, like it was like that today, it will be a great game tomorrow. Q. Will Brooks play tomorrow? BARRY TROTZ: Brooks is taking warm up and he will tell me if he's playing. But he is feeling much better and we will not put him at risk, so. Q. If he does not play, how much do you think the pairs will change? It looked like you're going to put Schmidt with Carlson, but what do you want to see out of those guys together? BARRY TROTZ: Well, if Brooks is in there we won't see that. But if they are together they're going to have a real tough challenge, obviously, with the Hawks. Look at them, they're a real deep team. They got nine pretty productive forwards, but obviously they got some weight on their big line, with Toews and Hossa and Saad that is a, that's a line that has a lot of weight to it. And obviously they got Richards and a guy like Kane, who is really dynamic, so we'll have our hands full. No matter who we put on ice, trust me. Q. Can you talk about the way Holtby has been playing these past few weeks and how comfortable are you continuing to ride him the way you have? BARRY TROTZ: I'm very comfortable. I think he's worked on a lot of things with Mitch and our goal tending staff. Also, I think just our system is a lot different than maybe the previous year in terms of who we're playing and the additions or Niskanen and Orpik. I think early Braden's biggest problem was he wasn't getting very many shots early, and that's hard for a goalie, when you're used to getting a lot of shots, not getting as much. I think he's got more comfortable, he's worked on his game. I feel very comfortable. He works hard. He's got that sort of blue collar mentality where he really works at his game and he's filling in the holes where he knows he needs to fill in and he's done a really good job. So I'll ride him as hard or as long as he says I'm good to go, so. Q. That 10‑minute mark scenario that you talked about, would that be something that you and Joel have to come to a consensus? BARRY TROTZ: Yeah. Q. Or does the staff? BARRY TROTZ: It would be something with us and the league. But everybody would have to know that that would happen. But the league's done this a few times and they talked about scenarios and that's one of them that came up. Maybe we go at halftime. But they're on the ice right now, so they will get a real idea of that. So when they come off, I'm sure there will be a conversation between myself, NHL, and Joel. Q. Would you feel comfortable doing something like that that's a little unorthodox? BARRY TROTZ: I think it's fair. I think it's fair. You know. If they wanted to stay in one end, if it's really glary, they can. (Laughter.) I'll take the shaded area. Q. How did the decision come about putting CR on the back of your helmets for the players and why was it so important for you guys to do that? BARRY TROTZ: Well, I think what you find out in this community, hockey community, it's a lot smaller than the people think. The trainers are very, very close. They are very tight, just as the players are, across the league. The coaches, all that. When a member goes down, they all want to show their respect. I reached out to, made a phone call to Joel, the trainers called the trainers, and I asked if they would ‑‑ we didn't want to take anything away from what Chicago was doing and representing, but we do, our trainers wanted to do it, so we reached out to Chicago and asked them. And they were gracious enough to do it. Q. Circle back to Orpik for a minute. You said he'll tell you. What's a player have to do to earn that kind of trust from you and what has he meant to you? You guys have had a pretty good month, what has he meant to you and how does it impact you when he's out there? BARRY TROTZ: He's been huge. One of the things is that Brooks demands a lot of respect. You'll find that there's some players that you'll have in your locker room, every team, that they do everything right, they say all the right things, and they don't have to talk a lot, they don't have to say a word. They just show up to work every day. You come in our locker room, Brooks Orpik will probably get the most respect of almost anybody. Because he's earned it. He's a champion. He's a pro. He's a good teammate. There's a lot of respect that goes around without even saying a word. And he's really helped our young defense. I think John Carlson has benefited playing with Brooks Orpik, I think Karl Alzner's benefited from watching Brooks Orpik, and Matty Niskanen it's had a really good affect on him and Mike Green and that. It's sort of filters right down through our whole organization. Those are two really important signings for us this summer. Q. (No microphone.) BARRY TROTZ: Absolutely. Yeah. Structurally there's nothing wrong with him, it's ‑‑ Brooks is a pro enough to know, can I help the team or would I hurt the team. If he feels that he's not there and he might hurt us, then he will definitely be honest and say to me, hey, I just got to bypass this one. He's that quality of a guy. So we know if he's not playing tomorrow, then he'll be playing the next game for sure. Q. How do you handle ‑‑ this is your first Winter Classic ‑‑ how do you handle the balance that you have to have with reminding yourself that this isn't an exhibition game, it's two points in the standings, and what's your message to your players addressing that? BARRY TROTZ: Really the message is enjoy this experience. Let's face it, this is pretty unique and it's something that you don't always get to do. So you want to share it with your family. One of the things that I have tried to do with our group is just make sure that ‑‑ be pros about it. We have got such great people that care about people and you want to take care of your families and you're dealing with ‑‑ we got members here that got 60 people. How do we get to the rink? Where is my pass? Where is my tickets? And where do we go, what time. And that becomes, for creatures of habit, which athletes are, it can be really distracting. So, our team services and our people have done a really good job, I think, as a staff, we have done a really good job of keeping that in order; and then we have had a couple of veteran guys who have gone through this before. I think that's helped. And we basically said, hey, if you want to be ‑‑ we got to be pros about it. If your house is brimming with people and friends and family, then tonight would be a really good time to get a hotel room and get your rest. Because I think that, at bottom line, this is such a spectacular event, but the bottom line for the Washington Capitals and the Chicago Blackhawks, these are big points in the standings. And I know we can't afford to give up any points to anybody. Q. Do you think you'll get butterflies out there? BARRY TROTZ: I will. I will. I always get butterflies before every game. You see me pacing. But when that goes away, that will be the time to walk away. But tomorrow will be different. It will be like a playoff game. It will be like something that you haven't done. It's strange, for people that haven't been out there, when you go on the ice, the ice seems smaller. I was wondering if maybe the dimensions were right, because everything is so spread out. But it is. You realize that the game's still played on the same size ice, but your brain and your visuals are off. I wonder how it was for the goalies. I haven't asked my goalies, but I know it will be, because of the depth perception and one goalie, obviously, we were going with faking our shots, you know, at the net for the first couple. But I think it's a unique experience and I said right after practice, put it simply is, when it ended, instead of going around and having fun and shooting, I have to remind the players that that was an opportunity to share this experience with, obviously, the people they love, people that they care about, and friends and family. So, don't think about yourself right now, think about the people that you're taking care of, but as soon as this is, that experience is over, you might go for a meal, and that, and then you have to realize what you are, you're a pro athlete playing in a big game tomorrow. Q. The Capitals and Blackhawks do so much with the USA Warriors, can you talk about maybe the program? BARRY TROTZ: Yeah, they practice at Kettler a lot and they're phenomenal to watch. I am blown away, number one, of how they can perform, what they do on the ice, but what they have done for the country, all those things, that's a special group. We're very supportive and one day we're going to do something with them, when I get a little more comfortable in the community, I know that I've been talking to a couple people, we will get together and make a special day for a couple of the communities in Washington, because the organization is really about that. So, we'll get really involved with them. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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