Ron Francis Quotes

It's an honour and a thrill and a privilege just to play in the NHL.

My goal was to play in the NHL, because that is the best hockey in the world.

Well, it's always nice to know the fans didn't forget what you did when you played in the NHL.

It's been a good hockey life for me anyway.

As a hockey player, playing for an Original Six team at Madison Square Garden, where it's packed every night, there's nothing like it.

As a kid growing up in the little city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, I dreamed of one day playing in the NHL, but never did I expect it to be as much fun as it turned out to be.

Listen, everything I have in my life is because of the NHL and because of hockey, and I love the game and I loved every minute of being a player, I loved coaching, I loved being involved in the NHL.

I played on a line with Theo Fleury and German Titov, and I was actually center on their line.

I played professional hockey in Europe. I played in the German third league and the Dutch elite league.

I grew up trying to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs, not Team Canada. Didn't even know it existed.

It's been a great honor for me to be a player for the Detroit Red Wings, to play for an Original Six franchise. I know I'm far from perfect, but I learned a lot.

For good reasons, there are no ties during the Stanley Cup season. Somebody needs to win so the lads can get out to their cottages on the lakes, where all hockey players spend their summers, or so I have been told.

My first idol was a Swedish goalie, Peter Lindmark.

You see a hockey player, you'd never know he's a professional athlete. But you put the skates on him, and he becomes a beast.

For as long as I can remember I wanted to be a professional hockey player.

My dad started taking me to Winnipeg games when I was 3 or 4. As a kid, I loved Wayne Gretzky, and I remember the first game I got to see him play against the Jets. The Kings beat the Jets, and I was happy that they did. Gretzky left the game after the first period, and I was upset about that.

This arena is a special place. Everybody loves it. To be able to stand behind the bench and be a part of a great tournament for the '96 Elite is fun. The kids, having a chance to play in the building where the Penguins play, it's a special feeling for them.

I covered hockey for a few years in the late '90s and early 2000s for the 'Colorado Springs Gazette,' and I covered the Avalanche for some of the glory years. I've done hockey off and on as a sportswriter but never played it.

But a funny thing happened four years later. I was invited to play for an alumni team against the Red Wings.

Stanley Cup hockey comes around every year, when games start to count in multiples of best-of-seven series, and the players seem to put more attention into every pass, every check, every annoying little trick.

I've been excited since I received a phone call from Paul Holmgren inviting me to represent the Flyers and Flyer fans at the alumni game of the Winter Classic weekend.

My favorite thing to do in this world is to be on the ice playing hockey and try to entertain fans and bring wins to the Chicago Blackhawks.

I still love playing the game, and it's amazing we can do this as a so-called 'job,' and it's amazing we can come to the rink every day and play the game we love.

I was lucky enough to have a hockey career in the NHL.

I've been playing hockey since I was five years old. It's a part of my life.