NHL ALL-STAR WEEKEND

January 19, 1996

Paul Coffey

Q. Paul, there is a lot of people in Canada very interested with this new puck that is going to be on the ice tomorrow night. Have you seen it?

PAUL COFFEY: We haven't seen it yet, but Brian Burke was telling us this morning can did a lot of animation with it. It is going to be pretty exciting.

PAUL COFFEY: He said it will be fine. I don't anticipate it being that much different from what it was.

PAUL COFFEY: This is exciting. This is his town, this is his area right here. I think any time you can still associate Bobby Orr with the game of hockey, it is great. The stuff I do on the ice and Leetch and Ray do it all because of a guy like Bobby who paved the way for us. It is exciting to have him around.

PAUL COFFEY: We all knew he was going to come back and play well. I didn't think anybody knew he would be playing as well and as consistently healthy as he has been. He is a great athlete. He knew he had to come back, and I don't know if proving something is the right way because he didn't have to prove anything to anybody. He had to prove to him that he is still healthy and can still compete at a high level. It is amazing what he is doing.

PAUL COFFEY: I think it has been good. I think you know, unlike baseball, I still think they are feeling a lot of the stuff -- hockey has market itself great. I think the players have handled themselves professionally. I think the owners have done a good job. I really don't feel like it has really missed a stride.

PAUL COFFEY: As players we basically stay out of most of that stuff. We play hockey. We have hired great people to take care of that stuff. I think any time you can see more players getting out in the open in a public professional sport, I think everybody is happy. That shows with the money we are making.

PAUL COFFEY: I don't think it is so much of adjustment at all. I think it is great. As I said, it shows in everything. It shows in the attendance; TV revenues; shows in the money that the players are making. It is just -- everybody is handling it.

PAUL COFFEY: I think he'd probably admit himself that his timing was a little bit wrong. I read something in the paper that it was starting to affect his team a little bit. He didn't want to come in here at the All-Star game and be any distraction and take anything away from the game. I think he has handled that properly. As to the way he is playing, I don't think he is missing a stride. He is playing great hockey this year. I think one way or the other, the thing will get settled.

PAUL COFFEY: It is unfortunate. I played in Edmonton for seven years. I really enjoyed it out there. It is tough the way the game is going right now from owners point of view, it is so tough to compete that -- I don't know if the whole league should suffer just because small market teams are suffering. I don't know what the answer is to be perfectly honest with you. Edmonton, played there for seven years, sold out seven years straight. It was a great hockey town. Now right now they have been struggling. I don't know what the answer is.

PAUL COFFEY: That is a Catch-22 thing. I am a Canadian. I am a small time guy. You'd like to have those teams remain in the League, but on the other hand, you don't -- like you said, it shouldn't hurt progress of the whole League. It is tough for the small market teams.

PAUL COFFEY: I think it is sad that Canadian cities are losing their teams. I think that is not right. But I think hockey has to grow all the time and that is why teams move to the states, but I still like to see some Canadian cities.

PAUL COFFEY: I think so. Everybody wants to move the big market and where hockey business is, it is a big business right now.

PAUL COFFEY: I think so. I think he has a good situation. He can choose where he wants to go, and Gretzky has done so much great things about hockey, so I really think he deserves the best options.

PAUL COFFEY: I have no idea.

PAUL COFFEY: No.

PAUL COFFEY: Well, those are things that you can't control, and of course, you know, it is not very nice if there is all the time rumors, but win, but it's -- when Gretzky got traded, I think everybody (inaudible)-- that is part of business right now.

PAUL COFFEY: Like I said, hockey is big business right now and that is why those cities lose the franchises. Of course it is sad, but you know, what did we do about it. We understand if business is not good so where -- we have to go somewhere where business is good. That is pretty simple. But you know, like rumors, it is nothing they can do about it. So...