Bill Guerin Quotations

We're going to run into that during the playoffs. We're going to be tired. We're going to be more beaten up than we are now, so we can't use that as an excuse. We have to get ourselves ready to go.

I don't feel that it's a phasing out, they just feel like they feel these younger players are ready to take the next step, ... You can't tell me that a lot of our older players are out of gas, I don't buy it. But you can't tell me that our younger guys aren't ready to jump in there, either, because they are.

But we still have the idea that we can be better.

I feel sorry for those guys. They've got a lot going on, a lot of issues, maybe not with the players on the team but things in the organization that are hard to put aside.

I don't think it's a surprise to anybody. They have some of the premier players in the league. They might be one of the smaller countries, but they're as good as anybody.

The people who are excited and ready to come back, we're extremely lucky to have them. The ones who are upset . . . you know what? We're going to do everything in our power to make them happy and to get them back in the arenas because hockey's a great game. You want everybody to come back and enjoy the sport.

We've got to keep playing for our lives.

We've given (the owners) well-thought-out proposals and ( Gary Bettman is) not willing to negotiate. What we've gotten back is just ridiculous. We presented a proposal with hundreds of pages of fine details. What we got back is six concepts and the longest one may have been 230 words and some were 30 words. You know what that is? That's no effort. (Bettman) is not being serious.

We have to be better. We as players get the time out there, and we have to make it work. I think at times we just have to trust ourselves more and just make good hockey plays.

He just gets us all going. When you see him out there and he's stirring things up, it gets you wanting to do the same thing. He's one of our leaders out there.

I think Brian has plenty of gas left in the tank. You can't look at a guy's age but what he does on the ice. Chris Chelios is 43, but he's still a good player.

Penalties had been an issue and we were much better tonight. But our discipline in the last five minutes, we really have to clean that up.

We haven't won squat, but we act like we've won something.

You keep your heads up and you never know what will happen.

We realized it had to be a big number to reset the dial,

We're definitely going to have to pick up our play. Slovakia is going to be a much different team than Kazakhstan. Mentally we have to know that and get out there and give a better effort.

We're definitely going to have to get better.

We hadn't paid the price for it yet. Tonight we did. A couple of tough plays and we lose the game.

We didn't play well. We were lucky to win. We came out flat and made a lot of mistakes. This is a misleading win streak. We're not playing as well as we should.

Those were good, greasy burgers. I might have to have another one.

Tip just told us how serious this is. He told us there are some game tapes that you look at and think, 'Oh, it wasn't as bad as I thought.' Then he told us, this wasn't one of them.

We didn't have much of a choice. We are not going to be in the clear for a while. Sometimes you just gain a lot by stepping back a little. We have to focus on the positive things. We all here believe in good, hard work ethic.

To score first is big. It gives your team confidence. Gets it out of the way. We can relax, get in your system and start to play.

With Bob behind the bench, their guys are going to play extremely hard for him.

(When) you have a year like I've been having, you just want to contribute. I don't think I'm there yet, but I'm working toward it.

There are absolutely guys who are going to want to get things off of their chest, and that's why we're doing this. We have more than 700 people, and we're not going to agree on everything, so it's good to get together and talk about everything that's happened.

We had to deal with a lot of other issues along with worrying about the game.

What's been tremendous about the new system is the team really does consider us partners in this and they ask for our feedback on things, so that makes us feel more a part of selling the game.

We were laughing about it, sure, and we can laugh today because it turned out for us. But seriously, that was a great lesson for our team, including Marty. In a strange way, it was better to have that kind of win than just a regular win.

We felt we were really ready for a long playoff run. We came out flat in this series and we are very disappointed. This franchise is built on winning in the playoffs and this is just a bad way to end.

Everybody has to step up. It doesn't matter whether it's your second, third or 15th year. It's the playoffs.

There's no reason why we can't score, too. And I think having that scoring depth would be a great thing for our team. This is why I play ... this time of year ... so whatever role I have, I'm going to play as hard as I can.

I understand it's not the most popular opinion, but I like fighting. We're trying to sell our game, right? And we have something that no other sport has, and yet we seem almost embarrassed to have it. I don't get it.

said Rademan. ''But these people with the four behind the bench were adamant. They said they loved Bill Guerin, but they were done. Well, Ralph told Billy, and asked if he'd call them. Sure enough, he got on the phone, called them, and that was it, they were sold.

People expect certain things out of their teams. They have a certain tradition here with the Cowboys, a great tradition with the Stars. In this market, we've got some serious competition.

People bet all the time in every aspect of life, and most of that is legal gambling. If you're trying to say our sport has a problem with it, I don't think it does.

Speed is a big part of my game, ... I mean, my legs are my whole game. I'm not one of those guys who can get by on my hands alone. I need my legs working to get the rest of me going. So, it's a legitimate question to ask about them now. I have to have my legs if I want to have my game going.

You're not going to miss that many games and then just get your spot back. I have to work and prove myself.

This is not a public-relations stunt. We've put a lot of work into this proposal and this isn't something we came up with overnight. We felt that we had to do something. We're getting down to crunch time and since the league isn't doing anything, we felt like we'd better do something before the whole season goes down the tubes. We've waited long enough for them to try to step up.

It's just one. I have to keep moving forward and not make a big deal of it.

It was the mind-set of the whole team to get to the front of the net. We hadn't done it much the first three games. They do a good job of blocking shots. It took hard work and determination from us.

I truly believe there is going to be zero tolerance, ... Can you imagine (Modano) coming through the neutral zone now? He probably gets hooked more than any player in the league.

It's no surprise to play against the U.S. or Canada. It's not as much of a culture shock.

It's ridiculous how big this has gotten. It was never an excuse of how things went on the ice. I feel bad for Mike because his name is being dragged through the mud, and he doesn't deserve that.

You think the only reason we get out of there early is because of the shooters? It's because Marty doesn't give them anything.

The officials are doing a good job it's not their job to adjust. We have to adjust, I have to adjust. It's just a matter of thinking out there.

It's definitely a rude awakening. We're going to have to get better. We're going to have to get better every step of the way.

It's definitely an advantage. We've got guys that have played together the last three or four years. A lot of teams really juggled their rosters. The core of our team is back, most of the team is back. We're sitting good right now.

Oh, it's unbelievable. On game nights, there's something in the air. There's a feeling and atmosphere going through the arena. As a player, you really feel it.

They called the meeting, and then they wanted to get tougher. It was just a joke.

They've had a long year. I don't know how I would have reacted to it, because we got a lot of calls.

This is just window dressing unless (the owners) have completely changed their philosophy, but I don't expect that. I just don't understand where they're coming from. We've told them time after time. It's just about one thing. And I think it's become quite personal for them to crush the union and become successful that way. How it affects the game doesn't really matter.

Every town loves a winner. This town in particular,

The fans in Dallas have been so loyal. They deserve this. All-Star games are great. They're fun to play in. They're fun to watch.

I'm absolutely thrilled that Mike is coming back, ... Besides the fact it instantly makes our lineup better, it's the right thing that Mike Modano is a Star for the rest of his career. If he went somewhere else, it would have been a shame and brutal for the whole organization and city. He's our Steve Yzerman.

I know we gave our best, everybody gave a great effort but we didn't put it together like we needed to. It's one of those things you just don't want to walk away from.

I guess you're going to find that on any teams, that it's going to start with the veterans and other guys are going to follow. We had a lot of guys step up to the plate tonight. ... You had a mixture of young and old doing a lot of things.

I think our group is closer. We have a lot better chemistry. I think we believe in each other.

Hopefully, it's the beginning of a new era. You know, we aren't the only guys to ever put this jersey on. ... We've made a lot of steps, and hopefully the next generation will continue.

He stuck his neck out there and said something uncomfortable for him to say and definitely uncomfortable for people to hear. In the end, Mike spoke the truth. We had to deal with a lot of other issues along with worrying about the game.

I believe in the guys here, but we've got to really work on the mental aspects of our game. If we want to do well in the playoffs, we're going to have to be better mentally.

He can do everything at top speed. You really appreciate it when you see it every day, the little things he does going so fast, ... Most of us wouldn't even attempt the stuff Mike does ... certainly not me.

All depends on how you bounce back. Do you panic and go in a frenzy over it?. It's a little bit of a mixture, because you just don't want to ignore it and think that it didn't happen. You have to face reality. ... We've got to get our act together.