Somewhat Stubborn
American Hockey League,Detroit Red Wings,Edmonton Oilers,National Hockey League,United Kingdom,Washington Capitals / Sep-2015
I got in a fight that night with Claude Julien. I’d fought him in junior, so I knew I could beat him up. I did pretty good against him, and all the scouts were there.
Bob Probert,Fighting,St Louis Blues / Sep-2015
I call my brother up and say, “Hey man, just had my second game in the NHL and it was awesome I fought this guy his name is Preburt or Proberb, something like that.”
American Hockey League,Coaching,Edmonton Oilers,Fighting,Hartford Whalers,National Hockey League / Sep-2015
If there was a choice between having to fight a bunch of tough guys every night or not being there, I didn’t mind.
Russia / Sep-2015
Sometimes, I call myself the man without a country. I left Lithuania at a young age, went to Russia, and ended up just everywhere.
American Hockey League,Montreal Canadiens,Training Camp,Washington Capitals / Sep-2015
I was excited about going to my first training camp after the California Golden Seals drafted me in the second, round, 21st overall in 1975.
Montreal Canadiens,Music / Sep-2015
We were both 14 years old going to Fisherville Junior High in Willowdale in 1966, right at the start of the psychedelic era.
Countries,Kontinental Hockey League,Leagues,Russia / Sep-2015
The next morning I got a call from Steve’s brother saying he’d passed the night before. It was at the same time that I was walking home.
Kontinental Hockey League,Russia / Sep-2015
When it was my turn to go get my money, I walked in to find an old lady sitting at a small table with a mail bag full of 100 dollar bills (all American), a money counter and a list of the players and their salaries. Behind her was a big scary looking mob guy for security.
Lithuania,National Hockey League,New York Islanders,Olympics,Russia / Sep-2015
1992 was one of the best years of my life. I won Gold at the World Juniors and the Olympics; got drafted; and then played my rookie year with the Islanders.
American Hockey League,Boston Bruins,Callup,National Hockey League / Sep-2015
As we were skating off, Chris Simon grabbed me by the throat and said, ‘Rookie, if you hit another guy, I’m sending you down to the minors in a body bag.’
National Hockey League,Retirement / Sep-2015
I limped home, got an ice pack out of the freezer, went up to the bedroom and yelled downstairs to my wife, ‘That’s it, we’re done!
Boston Bruins,Canada,Russia,St Louis Blues / Sep-2015
Jacques Plante was a great goalie, but as a team guy he was a piece of shit. He was always broke and borrowing money, but he’d never pay you back.
National Hockey League,Toronto Maple Leafs / Sep-2015
I enjoyed playing in Toronto. I think now it’s a little bit — I’ve said this before, I started with Pat Burns, and then we had Mike Murphy in there but we also had Pat Quinn.
Boston Bruins,Canada,Countries,National Hockey League,Olympics / Sep-2015
During college I had good marks, I was an All-American, I was the Hobey Baker finalist for two years, and I felt I had earned a one-way contract in the NHL.
Addiction,Retirement / Jul-2015
My problem when I retired was that I had such high expectations of myself. I wanted to do only huge things; I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything less. But, with time, I realized that it isn’t about that.
Hartford Whalers,National Hockey League,World Hockey Association / Jun-2015
To me, Dave Keon was as classy a guy as I ever met in hockey. And I loved the way he played and conducted himself. He was quiet, he had his own way of doing things, but who cares, we were so lucky to have him on our team
Draft,St Louis Blues,The Last of the Best / Jun-2015
Mom wasn’t a hockey person so she didn’t know Gordie Howe from Joe Blow. “Some fella named Cliff Fletcher called and said something about you being drafted.”
Boston Bruins,Draft,The Last of the Best / Jun-2015
I joke about it. People will ask “where did you go?” And I’ll say I was picked right before Vincent Lecavalier. “But didn’t he go first overall in 1998?” And I’ll say “yeah, that’s right”.
Draft,Edmonton Oilers,The Last of the Best / Jun-2015
The best decision I ever made in my life was not going to the draft; that is for sure. My agent called and said, “I am taking some guys down to Montreal for the draft. I want you to come along.”
Draft,Vancouver Canucks / Jun-2015
In ’91, my dad and I drove to Buffalo for what was to be the Lindros draft. I had just the one meeting set up with the Vancouver Canucks.
Detroit Red Wings,Draft,National Hockey League,World Hockey Association / Jun-2015
I was just playing hockey with my pals. I didn’t have dreams of going to the NHL or anything. We were a town of 6000 with dads coaching. It wasn’t until I was 14 that I realized you can go play junior.
Draft,The Last of the Best / Jun-2015
To simply be drafted, means you play the very difficult game of hockey better than almost every other person born in your birth year anywhere in the hockey-playing world.
Draft,Montreal Canadiens,Series,The Last of the Best / Jun-2015
Even all the way up, all I got was a letter from Montreal saying, you’ve been drafted by the Montreal Canadiens show up on September 8th to the Montreal Forum.
Draft,Montreal Canadiens / Jun-2015
Serge Savard drafted me. He must have asked me 20 times if I was happy to be drafted by the Canadiens because I looked so disappointed.
Lithuania,The Modern Game / Jun-2015
I played the game hard and no matter where I played, I played to win. But I’ll be honest: I always played to hit someone. That was my number one goal.
Hartford Whalers,Movies,Owners / Jun-2015
It was my wife Karen that created the story. Those were the days of the Die Hard movies and she said, “What about Die Hard in an arena?”
Fighting,National Hockey League,New York Islanders,Washington Capitals / Jun-2015
There’s a bond among fighters because we all have a fear of failure. Most fighters, off the ice, are the nicest guys because of this very real weakness that we have to stare down and try and face, but sometimes, cannot.
Playoff Beards,Playoffs,Washington Capitals / Jun-2015
I first started growing a moustache when I was about 14 because I just didn’t want to shave, and it made me look older.
1972 Summit Series,Chicago Blackhawks,Events,Russia / Jun-2015
I tried getting in shape before the 72 Series, but I hated running. I’d jogged a little up north but had come across a mother bear and her cubs, which gave me the excuse: “Too dangerous.”
Guy Lafleur,Legends,Montreal Canadiens,Stanley Cup / Jun-2015
Guy Lafleur was the most dynamic, captivating player that I ever played with. When he got the puck, everyone in the rink just knew that something was going to happen.
Don Cherry,Gordie Howe,Hockey Night in Canada / Jun-2015
My brother was a goaltender. He’s three years older than I am. I just decided that if Len could play goal, I could play goal better than him.
Europe,Finland,Germany,Switzerland / Jun-2015
That’s the biggest thing when you go to Europe, don’t stand around and think you have all kinds of time, you still have to play with pace.
Owners,Toronto Maple Leafs / Jun-2015
Once, I received a phone call from Harold Ballard from Millhaven Penitentiary. He said, ‘You interested in coming to Toronto?’ and I said ‘Yeah’
Beginnings,Childhood / Jun-2015
From the pond in Tilsonburgh, Ontario to the hockey hotbed of Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, everyone started somewhere. These are some of those stories.
Broadcasting / Jun-2015
It looked like the possibility of doing the Daily Double of the Triple Crown and Stanley Cup finals on the same day in the same city, but it didn’t work out.
Our team in Buffalo was very close socially: the old and young players, everybody’s wives and girlfriends. When something good happened to someone, we shared in the joy.
Minnesota,NHLPA,USA / Jun-2015
After leaving hockey, I was devastated that I couldn’t play. I felt self-pity and depression. I was 25 years old walking out a door and into a world I didn’t know.
Broadcasting,New York Islanders / Jun-2015
I was sitting there at the bar when two rookies– Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey– came in and found me. One grabbed my sandwich, one grabbed my Coke, and told me I was going with them.
Toronto Maple Leafs / Jun-2015
He’s going through: I remember you got two against L.A. — he remembered everything. It was incredible. It wasn’t as if I was scoring regularly — but he remembered my goals. It was pretty cool.
Music / May-2015
From the backyard pond to the game’s most iconic rinks, music has soundtracked the game of hockey, intertwined with some of the greatest names like Valeri Kharlamov to Al Iafrate.
Concussions,Fighting,Retirement,Toronto Maple Leafs / May-2015
When you’re young, you feel invincible. You think you can do whatever you want to do and nothing will bother you. I’ve had 17 surgeries, 10-plus concussions & I pay the price every day.
Broadcasting,Canada,Coaching,Family,Gordie Howe,Minnesota Fighting Saints,World Hockey Association / May-2015
My dad built me a rink when I was five years old in the backyard in Sarnia. It was only a small rink but I played all the time. In those days, the winters in Southern Ontario gave you ice from early December all the way to March.
There are more pictures of Sami and Teemu Selanne than there are of the two of us. Her mom got so mad about that when I tweeted it. Her mom said, ‘That’s not true, there’s one of you in the corner of our living room…’
Alcoholism,Drinking,Quebec Nordiques / May-2015
Bryan Fogarty was supposed to be the next Bobby Orr. He could do amazing things on the ice. I remember his zenith, which came during an early home game at the Colisee in the winter of ‘89.
Hartford Whalers,Owners,World Hockey Association / May-2015
The game went off okay, but the next night in Philly, the players fell through the ice. That was the WHA: you never knew what was coming at you.
Leagues,Montreal Canadiens,National Hockey League,Philadelphia Flyers / May-2015
Victoria Matiash sits down with Gilbert Dionne to talk about winning a cup with the Habs, Boston fans, his famous older brother and going his own way.
American Hockey League,Canada,Countries,Leagues,Montreal Canadiens,Newfoundland / May-2015
Episode One: Surviving Michel Therrien - Stories of a life in hockey, about hockey, by former Montreal Canadien and Newfoundland hockey legend and author Terry Ryan with broadcaster Victoria Matiash.
Broadcasting,National Hockey League / May-2015
I’ve been an avid horse owner and bettor for a long time, and in 1994, after we won the Stanley Cup with the Rangers, I took the Cup to the Belmont Park for the day.
Leagues,Montreal Canadiens,National Hockey League,Teams / May-2015
So when I saw this photo I was thrilled - me and Frank in the same photo. How cool is this. Then I start thinking - he’s a left winger, I am a left winger.
