NHL AWARDS CEREMONY

June 24, 1999

Jacques Martin

JACQUES MARTIN: I'd like to thank the National Hockey League broadcasting association for the tremendous work that they do. Also I'd like to congratulate other nominees Ken Hitchcock and Pat Quinn who have done an outstanding job with their team, as well as all other coaches in the National Hockey League. I'd like to thank the Ottawa Senators organization, its owner Rod Bryden, its president Roy Mlakar, its general managers Marshall Johnston right now and special thanks to Pierre Gauthier for giving me an opportunity. I thank my coaching staff, Mike Murphy, Randy Lee, Phil Myre who have done a tremendous job. Most important, I thank the players of our organization for their tremendous dedication and support, and their extreme work ethic that's made this possible.

JACQUES MARTIN: Well, it's a tremendous honor for me. I think it's a tremendous reflection on the progression of our hockey club. A lot of the credit should go to the organization and the players who have worked so hard to become an elite hockey team.

JACQUES MARTIN: We raised our expectation as the season went along. We felt that we were an excellent hockey club. We didn't know how good we could be. I think we've proved that we're an elite club in the National Hockey League. Now we have to work at staying there and becoming a better hockey club in post-season play.

JACQUES MARTIN: I don't think I don't worry about those things. I think the most important thing is to work hard and do the best of your ability. I think that I'm very fortunate to have a tremendous staff in Ottawa, to have tremendous young players who are extremely key and extremely focused and work at getting better every day.