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NHL ALL-STAR WEEKENDFebruary 3, 2001Mario LemieuxDENVER, COLORADO DAVID KEON: Ladies and gentlemen, we have Mario Lemieux. Q. Mario in years past, you and Wayne together carried more or less the economic torch for the League, and now you have got 16 games under your belt. They are all sell-outs. Do you feel that this is part of your responsibility, to help carry the economic burden for the League? MARIO LEMIEUX: Well, I think it is all our responsibilities. But I certainly understand that I have to do my share, and I am willing to do this at this stage of my career. I feel comfortable doing it, and it has been great the first 16 games that I have been back, especially in Pittsburgh we sold out every game, and on the road, and it has been very, very exciting to play the game when it has a lot of media attention and fans and everybody is excited about the game. So it has been a lot of fun so far. Q. Mario, Brett Hull says that you are the only player in the League who can fill a building. One of the problems is the League doesn't like players with personalities, so they can sell themselves so the fans might want to go and watch them play. What do you think of that? MARIO LEMIEUX: Where is he at? (Laughs.) Well, Brett obviously is one of the best player to ever have played the game. At times he is very vocal. But I certainly share his views, and he is doing this for the good of the game. He loves the game and has been around since he was a little boy, and everything that he is doing, everything that he is saying is for the good of the game. So certainly appreciate that. Q. How close are you to the player that you were before you retired, and have you surprised yourself with all the success you have had? MARIO LEMIEUX: Well, I feel certainly better than I did when I started on December 27, but I still have a long way to go. For me to be at the top of my game, I have to be able to beat guys one-on-one. I have to be able to change direction with speed and get away from players, which it is still not quite there yet. But I have seen some improvement the last couple of games, especially in Phoenix where I played a pretty good game skating-wise and also in Atlanta. So I feel that my legs are coming back, my strength, and hopefully another couple of weeks I should be at the top of my game. Q. At the beginning you wanted to take a wait-and-see attitude about the future. Now that you have played and played this well, have you given more thought to how long you are going to play? MARIO LEMIEUX: Yeah, that is something that I have been thinking quite a bit the last couple of weeks, and I decided that I am going to play at least a couple more years, going to finish this year and play next year, then see how it goes. I am having a lot of fun now that I am back in the game. It is something that I miss quite a bit, the last three years, and I am glad that I have another opportunity at it, and I am going to play as long as my body allows me to. Q. Have you already worked out -- have you signed a contract? How does that work? MARIO LEMIEUX: We are negotiating right now. (Laughter.) Q. Mario, is the game better now that you have come back? Is it a better game than it was before? You obviously had some concerns about the direction of the game when you retired. Now you are back. Is it a better game? MARIO LEMIEUX: I think it is. I think it is a much better game. That is one of the reasons that I decided to come back and be a part of it. I think the game has opened up somewhat. The thing that I noticed the most is the players are much bigger and stronger and are able to skate very well. So that is the biggest difference. But as far as the flow of the game, it is certainly much better than it was three and a half years ago. Also it is safer for the players. Three, four years ago, at times it was dangerous to go out there because of the slashing to the hands and the upper body. I think that the League has done a great job with the Andy VanHellemond and Colin Campbell and Mr. Bettman to address that. I think you can see much better hockey now. Q. Can you contrast being back on this stage with your other All-Star appearances, and personally how you feel about that being back as the player in the game, so to speak? MARIO LEMIEUX: Well, I think you appreciate it more, you know, when you are out of the game for a long period of time. You have a second chance to come to these events and to play with the best players in the world, and you get to appreciate it a lot more than when it is a given to you every year. So this one is very, very special. Q. Wayne Gretzky mentioned you obviously with the Canadian Olympic Team. Can you talk about that prospect? MARIO LEMIEUX: I'd love to play for the Olympic Team. That is something that obviously is going to be very exciting for the players and the fans and for the whole country. Wayne left me a message when I came back; and if I am chosen, I'd love to be a part of it. Q. You haven't broken it to Brett Hull yet that the Penguins have been playing the 1-4 delay, have you? MARIO LEMIEUX: We are not planning (sic) the travel. We are playing the 1-4 delay. Q. How do you balance coming back, and what he is talking about the fact that it would almost take you singularly to get the League to open up, play more, because you are the franchise player of the League, you are the star of the League, and you -- your impact on the League could get the League to open up the play more. How do you counterbalance that to the fact that you have personally had the Penguins playing a little different style lately because you know the Phoenix game and the Dallas game you lost the shoot-outs? MARIO LEMIEUX: Yeah, just the way the game is going right now, you have to play smart hockey, because every team out there is playing good defense and taking the defense first. Whereas, ten or fifteen years ago it was all offense first, and then take care of defense later. So I think the game has changed over the years, and now you have to be much better defensively and take care of your own end first and take advantage of your opportunities. So the game has changed in that regard, and you have to adjust. Q. Realizing that you have had to step away from the Board of Governors' role but you are still an owner, you have looked at the books. You had to worry about the bottom line. You have had to worry about the checks. How has this changed your perspective, and how difficult is it to maybe balance those two hats as you are back as a player? MARIO LEMIEUX: Obviously, it is a tough business. There is a lot of things that are going to have to be addressed in the future, but I think we can make it work. We got some great people as governors and great people on the other side as well. And just a matter of getting the right people together and striking a deal that makes sense for both of us, for the players, and also for the owners. To be able to at least break even and have an opportunity to make some money, and I think it is only fair. Q. Are you thinking as a player/owner... (Inaudible.) MARIO LEMIEUX: Both. Q. Mario, I know you and Jaromir Jagr were looking forward to facing off in the All-Star Game for the first time. Tell me about the missed opportunity. MARIO LEMIEUX: Well, it is unfortunate he got hurt against Philadelphia. Took a pretty good shot, and you know, was not able to make the trip. It is unfortunate for everybody here, for the fans and for the players. He was the leading vote-getter, and that says a lot about people wanted to see him play. So he is going to be missed certainly. Hopefully, we will have another opportunity next year. Q. Would you clarify the Olympic thing. You are being kind of polite, and obviously if you are asked, you would definitely play in the Olympics? MARIO LEMIEUX: Absolutely. No question about it that I think it is going to be very exciting. We should have a great team. I certainly want to be a big part of it. Q. Were you planning to lead the League in goal scoring this year? MARIO LEMIEUX: (Laughs.) Not really. You know, I missed too many games to do that. But you never know, if I get a few good, hot games, I can get close to the lead. Maybe it will happen. Q. You have become much more of a spokesman for the League than you were before. Did you learn something in those three and a half years that gave you a different outlook, you felt it was more important to address the media? You have been a lot more patient. Seemed like you have had more fun with it. MARIO LEMIEUX: I think I learned a lot, especially the last two years since I took over the team as an owner, to take a step back and see how the media and the fans react to the game. I certainly understand my part now that it is important for me to go out and to try to promote the game and to give my time to the media and also to the fans, which I always want to know more about the star players. And at this stage of my career, I am willing to do that. I feel more comfortable doing it. I understand why we are doing it. Q. The Penguins ownership situation has been resolved - Not been likely that it was not going to move to Portland, Oregon, do you sense that the NHL will make a match for Portland and there will be a team there? MARIO LEMIEUX: I don't know. I think that you have to look at the League as a whole and see which teams are struggling in their own market and certainly Portland is a city that has been trying to get an NHL franchise for many years and seems to be a good hockey town, so that will be up to the franchise that are struggling and up to the NHL and Mr. Bettman to make that call. Q. Jagr is not here as part of the violence that seemingly is inherent in the game. Admittedly the League is trying to give some of that out there, particularly head injuries. Yet how do you contrast that with the fact that your team has specifically toughened up in the last little while as it seems to be for need to get to the Playoffs and to survive in the Playoffs? MARIO LEMIEUX: Well, it is important to be able to address what happens on the ice right away. That is something that has been missing with our club for the last couple of years and we decided to address it in a big way. And think it is important that everybody on the ice feels safe and I think that our team is much better off now after all the trades that we made the last couple of weeks. I think it is only going to help us. Q. How different has been coming back from three and a half years out of the game from coming back from five, six -- I forget exactly how many weeks of treatment you had for the Hodgkin's, has it been harder, easier, about the same? MARIO LEMIEUX: I think this one is easier because of the fact that I had a fresh start. I was healthy. My back was in great shape. I didn't have to go through radiation for six weeks and be depleted physically and mentally. So this one was a fresh start. I feel this was the easiest of all my comebacks. Q. Sort of Part B to that: Most people think what you did back then was one of the most amazing things ever playing the same day as your last radiation treatment; going on to win the scoring championships. Can you compare that to two points a game to a three and a half year layoff, which do you think was more --? MARIO LEMIEUX: I think the one coming back from the radiation treatments was probably the most successful, I would think because of the fact that I didn't train for six weeks and just went to the hospital everyday and had radiation treatments and my strength was depleted; to be able to come back I think I averaged close to 3 points or over 3 points in the last few games to catch Pat LaFontaine was probably the best of all the comebacks. Q. You mentioned before about teams that are struggling and, you know, this thing will sort itself out. Among the teams that are struggling are two in the Canadian market. How important do you think it is to keep a Canadian presence in a big way in the League, do you think? Is it possible with the Canadian dollar; with all the things that are involved? MARIO LEMIEUX: Yeah, that has got to be very difficult obviously because of the exchange, because of the taxes up there; especially with the Montreal Canadiens. I think as a League we have to try to do everything we can to keep those teams there. Montreal belongs in Montreal. This is one of the best franchises in all of sports; not only in hockey, it would be devastating to the League to see Montreal leave because of the economics. We have got to try to do everything we can, you know, the 30 teams, to try to keep them there. Q. Do you marvel at the fact or appreciate the fact that Ray Bourque who is five years older than you is here for the 19th time? MARIO LEMIEUX: (Laughs) Well, Ray is a special guy and a special player. He has been a great player for 20 years and I am glad that I have another opportunity to play with him. He is a good friend and I am looking forward to the next couple of days with him. Q. How much of your greater ease, even enjoyment with dealing with the media, has to do with you just feeling better physically now? MARIO LEMIEUX: I think it is a big part of it to be able to feel 100% and not having to battle my back everyday or, you know, the cancer, thinking about the cancer all the time. It has been seven, eight years now and that is well removed. So feeling good everyday certainly helps you to go do your job and deal with people on a daily basis. I think that is something that I showed the last few weeks. DAVID KEON: Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. End of FastScripts.... |
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