NHL AWARDS CEREMONY

June 25, 1998

Jamie McLennan

GARY MEAGHER: Questions for Jamie McLennan?

JAMIE MCLENNAN: Well, I mean all year we wore the 14 helmet, and he was a big part of the City of St. Louis he is a big part of the City of St. Louis. You know, basically every time the guys would get down or whatever, he seemed like he was a real big force behind us. He's a quiet guy, it's not like he was aggressive or anything. He was a big inspiration, especially when you're going through something like that and you show signs of courage like that. I just felt like it should have been dedicated to him.

JAMIE MCLENNAN: End of the season in New York, I was driving home. I had flown to Salt Lake City, had some stuff there, was driving home to Edmonton. I used to play Junior in Leth Bridge and stopped there to visit some family. I just wasn't feeling well. I thought I had the flu or food poisoning at worst. Basically, long story short, I went to the hospital the next morning because I had been very sick all night and could barely move. The doctor said I was lucky to get there in time, you know, if I would have waited a little bit longer, it would have attacked my whole body. It would have been too late. So, fortunately, I was there in time so that he could intercept and treat it. It took, I think, six or seven days in intensive care just to kind of get myself organized. I don't really remember much. I was kind of on the morphine or whatever. And the biggest part was just the recovery, I mean just getting myself back up. My muscles were so beaten up that I couldn't walk there for a while. Then I got in to a walker and then a cane and was getting up and around the hospital, and that's when they released me. So it was about a month in there. And, you know, at that point it was pretty scary because I didn't have a contract; I was going to be a free agent July 1st. It was scary because here I had this illness or whatever, and I had to battle back. And I lost 30 pounds and a lot of muscle, and I was cramping. I was only out of bed about an hour or two a day, just to try and work it out. July 1st, my agent did a great job, Art Reese (phonetic spelling) out of Calgary did a great job just letting the teams know I was going to be healthy again; it was just a matter of time. And St. Louis seemed to just be interested in me and to, you know, follow my progress. And July 1st I agreed to terms. And at that time, it was Mike Keenan and Bob Berry. I signed a twoyear deal, and at that point John Casey and Grant were there, so we were kind of looking down the road for a full recovery. Last year it ended up happening. So it was real exciting. That's why, I mean, I owe so much to St. Louis, the organization.

JAMIE MCLENNAN: Two years ago, May 6.

JAMIE MCLENNAN: Bacterial meningitis.