A lot of us are in the same position, there's not much money to spend. |
Chris brings a great deal of experience and passion to the rink every day. He's been a great Red Wing, he's in excellent shape, and no matter what his age, you know he can play at a very high level. |
Chris has been a No. 1 goaltender wherever he's been while Manny has never been given that opportunity. In 2001, when they were teammates, Manny made a great case to be the next No. 1 guy, but we ended up signing Dominik Hasek and later Curtis Joseph . This is a great opportunity for both Manny and Chris, and they've had a good rapport in the past, so I'm sure it will be a healthy competition. |
Coming into the new cap world, it seemed like it was the right time to change, to bring in a coach who had new ideas, ... wasn't similar to Dave Lewis (in style). Players had to win this new coach over. |
Cory is a real good person and he'll be good for our team chemistry. It's an opportunity for Cory. I can't tell you whether he'll be the sixth, or seventh or eighth defenseman, I can't tell you. That'll be decided over the next 20 games. |
Dave's relationship with half our team -- and it was the core half -- had really been cemented as the assistant coach, ... I thought it was important to bring in someone with a different type of personality. |
Dave's relationship with half our team -- and it was the core half -- had really been cemented as the assistant coach. I thought it was important to bring in someone with a different type of personality. |
Even though they're older players, if they can play like they did two years ago, they're going to help us a lot. |
Everything depends on the out clause. |
Everything, ... depends on the out clause. |
For me, that was our main goal (this season) to win the Central. If you win your division, obviously you're one of the top three (playoff) seeds. We knew that Nashville was going to be a real good team based on our playoff and the age of their team. |
For the most part our goaltending has been OK, ... But I'm sure there are some goals they'd like back. |
For the most part our goaltending has been OK. But I'm sure there are some goals they'd like back. |
For us, it's one step on the journey. |
From a club's perspective, if a player doesn't reach your projections in terms of performance, it really will have a negative impact on your ability to compete in the future, |