Hockey Legacy Quotes

I've seen 48 Stanley Cups in my life. I was about six or seven when I started going to games with my dad.

I remember the day I met Cammi Granato, a former star on the U.S. women's hockey team. We were at a Women's Sports Foundation dinner in 1996, and she came over to introduce herself. She had watched the U.S. women's soccer team win gold at the Atlanta Olympics and was hopeful the U.S. women's hockey team could do the same.

My grandmother was from Guelph, Ont. I grew up playing ice hockey, I'm a massive fan. A great-uncle who was in the early days of the NHL played for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Coming from Montreal, Patrick Roy was the guy that everybody looked up to. He was consistent and successful early in his career; he won the Stanley Cup when he was really young and he played with a great organization. For me it was also a French thing, like one of us had made it that big in the NHL, and you tried to follow in his footsteps.

Being drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, that was the greatest moment in my career. And stealing the Stanley Cup in 1978 and bringing it back to my hometown of Thurso.

As long as I could remember, since I was 5 years old, I watched the Stanley Cup. I stayed up, made a point of watching it presented, watched the celebration in the locker room, and always dreamed that maybe I'd get there.

You can't replace a guy like Jean Beliveau.

Wayne Gretzky is the greatest hockey player of all-time, I don't think there is any debate about that. If you look at the records he holds, they'll never be broken or touched. He wasn't the biggest, wasn't the fastest, and didn't have the hardest shot, but no one saw the game developing the way he saw the game develop.

The Montreal Canadiens have been a big part of my family.

One of the advantages, one of the special things, about playing in Detroit or Montreal is guys like Gordie Howe walk in the room. I didn't know he was here tonight, it was kind of a coincidence to get that assist on a night that he's here.

After his hockey days, my dad became a photographer, and a really good one, at that. He used to shoot the Expos and Canadiens, and he'd give me five bucks to haul around his equipment during games. He never had to ask me twice to do it.

My only ultimate aim is to bring back the lost glory of Indian hockey.

It's true that in Canada, we pride ourselves on the game, and we like to think we're the dominant hockey nation in the world.

My message to the kids and our fans is hockey's a great game. There's a lot of hockey being played at all levels. Get involved, do it. We will be back and we will be back better than ever and hopefully as soon as possible. Don't give up on the game. It's too good.

I'm not sure Mario is going to get accolafes he deserves, especially from outside the game. But from within, the players, the people who follow closely, realize exactly what he's broughtto the table, exactly what he has done. People tend to forget... hockey was dying in Pittsburgh before he got there. I played there. It was almost dead. I'm sorry, but the NHL would not have a franchise in Pittsburgh today had Mario not come along. Think about it, no hockey in Pittsburgh.

Peter Forsberg's skills and determination made him one of the most powerful forwards in the NHL during the best years of his career. Hearing of his retirement is sad news but one day every athlete has to come to this decision. He should be very proud of all he accomplished throughout his career.

My dad would talk to players like Claude Lemieux and Stephane Richer and tell them one day his son was going to play in the NHL. How many dads say the same thing? But, gee, he was right.

I always wanted to be like Mark Messier and I loved Wayne Gretzky, the same as other kids. But it was also really special for me to see the Black players that were in the NHL.

I consider the Detroit Red Wings one of the greatest franchises in any sport. For a player to come in and play, it's so special to wear the jersey.

It's an amazing honor to be the fourth Black hockey player to go into the Hall of Fame. It's a huge thrill.

Stanley Cup winners don’t hand back the Stanley Cup.

To see my statue unveiled alongside Borje Salming, the player I grew up idolizing in Sweden, will be very special for both my family and me.

Very few cities in the NHL have the history or the following of the Detroit Red Wings.

I'm a guy who wants to make a lasting impression on hockey, and if I'm going to do that, I have a lot more work to do than just one season.

I just have a lot of respect for Terry and his family. He played without a mask, and his life was tragically ended. And it just means a lot to me to be up there with him and the other greats that have played that long.