NHL ALL-STAR WEEKEND

February 1, 2002

Mario Lemieux

MARIO LEMIEUX: I think there's an obligation. Obviously, you know, it's fun to be a part of the All-Star Game. It's not that hard of a game, obviously (smiling). It's more of a come here for a couple days, enjoy yourself, play the game, and try to put a show on for the fans. It doesn't take a lot out of you. If the guys are healthy and are feeling good, they should be here and be a part of it.

MARIO LEMIEUX: I think everybody is thinking about it. I've been thinking about it for months now, to have a chance really to play in the Olympics and have a chance to win a gold medal, especially for myself being 36 years old. There's not too many left. To have a chance to go there and play in the Olympics and have a chance to win the gold medal is very, very special.

MARIO LEMIEUX: I think everybody. For myself, you kind of get used to them after a while. It's still very, very exciting for all of us to be here, to be with the great players of our game. Of course, it's great for the kids to have a chance to be here and see the guys that they watch on TV every night. It's exciting for them, too.

MARIO LEMIEUX: They're world class players, obviously. But I think the three goalies that we're going to have there are going to do the job for us, whoever they decide to play. They're very talented. To have a chance to play with a great team in front of them should help quite a bit. I think for right now we have a lot of confidence, whoever is going to be at net for us.

MARIO LEMIEUX: I think it's going to be probably the best team I ever played on. Obviously, the talent level is very high. The speed is going to be incredible, up front and also on defense. The size, the skills. I think Gretz did a great job in bringing in some guys that can kill penalties at times, you know, bump and grind if we need to. I think the combination of talent and the skill level and the size and speed is going to be to our advantage, especially on a bigger ice surface.

MARIO LEMIEUX: Well, it's been pretty hectic for most of the guys. I've been on the sidelines for most of the year because of my hip surgery. I think it's been a difficult year for everybody around the league, for the players, not much time off, trying to play as many games as possible, of course, the Olympics in a couple weeks. I think it's been difficult on everybody. But doesn't happen every year that you have a chance to play in the Olympics and send your best players over there. You have to make sacrifices once in a while. That's one of those years.

MARIO LEMIEUX: Just the way he's played this year, it's been incredible. The skill level that he's showing now is pretty impressive. He's got the size and the speed and the hands to continue that for many, many years. He's a young guy. He's going to be around for a long time. It's great to see some of these young guys are getting some confidence and are able to go out and perform every night. He's going to be a good one for many, many years. It's nice to see.

MARIO LEMIEUX: A lot of talent in our league. These young guys are coming up, 18, 19 years old, I think he's got 25 goals so far. He's having a great year. His skill level as well is incredible. His work ethic, from what I've seen, every game that I watch, he's working hard. He's dedicated to the game. He's got all the tools to be a great one in this league. I think from talking to some of the guys, he's got the attitude to want to be the best, and that's a big part of it. If you want to be the best, you've got to work hard accordingly and give yourself a chance to achieve that.

MARIO LEMIEUX: It's getting better. Obviously, it's not quite a hundred percent. I still have a couple weeks to take care of that and work on my conditioning some more, hopefully peak by the Olympic Games. It's been a struggle. It's been frustrating at times. Feeling good some days, not so good some other days. I guess that comes with age (smiling).

MARIO LEMIEUX: Yeah, I think we should try to create a little bit more offense, excitement. But I think we've come a long way in the last couple years. Having said that, I think we still have a long way to go. Try to open up the game. Scoring is down a little bit this year. Even though it's just a goal and a half, it's a lot for our game. You know, maybe taking the red line out would be something that would open up the game, give the players some room, especially in the neutral zone. Maybe, you know, moving the nets back to where they were before, giving the good ice to the players in front instead of behind the net. There's a lot of times now where you have four or five guys below the goal line. You don't score too many goals from there (smiling). I'm sure that the league is looking at that. I'm sure they'll find ways to bring the scoring to where it was before. Of course, the equipment for the goalies is a lot bigger now. If you look at photos from the '70s and '80s, photos now, it's totally different. The goal size has stayed the same throughout those years. Little adjustments we have to make in our game, and create more speed, especially in the neutral zone, would create a lot more offense and would be a lot better for the game. I'm sure the Commissioner is looking at that and will hopefully make some little changes that would create more offense.

MARIO LEMIEUX: Yeah, it's been a long time obviously. I think everybody is aware of that. The whole country is aware of that. Of course, the players who are going to be a part of it, the coaching staff. But we're looking forward to that. I think everybody at this time welcomes the pressure to have a chance to play for your country and have a chance to win a gold medal. If we do that, it would be a great accomplishment. It's going to be exciting to be there. It's going to be a great tournament. You have four, five, six teams that have a real good shot at winning the gold medal. Going to be some tight games. But we feel we have a great team and have a great chance to be successful.

MARIO LEMIEUX: Well, that's probably down the road, obviously. But since we have a lot of our players that come from Europe, might be a good idea once in a while to go over there and to have the All-Star Game over there. That's something that, of course, the league would certainly look at and decide if it's the best for the game in general.

MARIO LEMIEUX: Well, obviously USA is going to have a little bit of an advantage over the other teams. But I'm sure we're going to get our share of fans. It's not a big building, as you know. You know, if we can get a couple thousand fans from our country to be there and to support us, it would mean a lot to all of us.

MARIO LEMIEUX: Yeah. To carry the torch a couple months ago was something very, very special. Really felt what it meant to be a part of the Olympics, having a chance to carry that torch in Pittsburgh, to get the feeling of what it means to all of us. I'm really looking forward to a couple weeks from now to be able to be there for a long period of time and have a chance to win the gold medal. It's something that I've been thinking about for a long time. It's getting closer.

MARIO LEMIEUX: I'm not allowed in the boardroom anymore (laughter). This is my boardroom, I guess. No, just some ideas. I get asked every day how we can create some offense. That's just a couple ways that might help create some offense and some speed back into our game, giving the great players in this game a chance to go on the ice and have a chance to score 70, 80, 90 goals like we used to in the early '90s, late '80s. It was totally a different game back then. Now, you know, teams are much better. Obviously, players are bigger, stronger, faster, not much room, well-coached. All these things together make it that the scoring is down.

MARIO LEMIEUX: No. My brother played there a few years ago. Played in the minors there. He loved it. That's the extent that I know about Salt Lake City.

MARIO LEMIEUX: Tomorrow night, probably us (smiling). No, it's going to be exciting to watch all these great players on the ice at the same time. You should see some great stuff.