NHL ALL-STAR WEEKEND

February 1, 2003

Jeremy Roenick

JEREMY ROENICK: I don't think I've created one so much in the East Coast, but when I was with Chicago I did. When I was going against Stevie Yzerman, it was always a big rivalry for me. I wanted to make it for him. You know that Chicago, Detroit is a big rivalry to begin with, one of the biggest ones in the early '90s. We made it a point to try to beat each other, and I think myself and Modano, we always try to get the best of each other. I think he's one of the top three players in the game today, and it's a treat when I can play against him. You don't like losing; secondly, you don't like someone getting the better of you. You get Hitch saying "Don't let them beat you, don't let them beat you."

JEREMY ROENICK: I don't think you can put it aside. That creeps in the back of a lot of players' minds. You never like to see your sport struggle. Obviously, we feel we have a great product that can be sold. Enough people need to learn about it and understand it, and how you do that? That's what the league has struggled with for so long. I think the day and age of our economics and the state of our country right now, you can see why sports are taking a hit, and especially our sport because it's the first sport you're not going to the watch the United States, which is unfortunate, because I think we have the most exciting sport there is, so we hope these teams find a way to make it financially work. But you have so many good players out there, and, obviously, with more teams that are around, the talent is a little diluted, but you have to play with the cards you're given.

JEREMY ROENICK: I would like to know who he was referring to. I hope my name didn't come out of that one. I think Hully says a lot of things to get a response for the shock effect. I don't think he means a lot of things he says. He wants to surprise someone or see the reaction that he's going to get. You're going to have a lot of people who are going to say that the athletes are overpaid and spoiled and, to me, those people really don't know what we do or know how hard it is, and Hully just has been in the game a long time, and he's trying to stir the pot before he decides what he's going to do next year. I think he definitely wants to stir the pot a little bit. That's what makes him such a great interview, such a great competitor, I guess. There is only one Brett Hull. There is no question about that. I don't take a lot of what Brett says seriously or to heart because he says things just to get a rise out of people. To me, he's one of the greatest guys in the game, and I know him personally, and I have a lot of respect for him and what he says.

JEREMY ROENICK: I definitely agree. I don't think you have to name names to guess whose contracts in the league are skeptical, or guys that you can say that don't deserve what they get paid, but we're only in this game for a short period of time. If someone's going to give you the money and if someone wants you bad enough, these guys are crazy not to take it. It's going to be interesting in the next couple years how the salaries go and see what happens with the new collective bargaining agreement. The game is at a very critical stage right now. What happens now with the players and owners is very important.

JEREMY ROENICK: I don't think that the players have to concede anything. We have worked very hard to get where we are today, to get the salaries where they are. There has to be a middle ground to where both owners and players can live comfortably. What that is, I guess we're going to find that out. There has to be a median where it doesn't get out of whack either.

JEREMY ROENICK: Who wouldn't take that money if you're given it? You can't tell me you wouldn't. If someone came up to you and said "I'll give you 7 million for two years," you can't tell me you wouldn't take it. There is nobody twisting anybody's arms to get this amount of money. You've got guys that sit out and guys that don't pray because of their situation, but that's the nature of all sports. That's how our business works. If you don't like it, then that's too bad, that's how it goes.

JEREMY ROENICK: Obviously, the main reason it did is way back when we had salary disclosure, that started the whole competition aspect where one guy says I make this, and another guy says I make this, and then they compete against each other. Some guys really squeeze the owners and gets some astronomical numbers, and that throws everything out of kilter. Then you have a guy who deserves much better and another guy that's making that kind of money.

JEREMY ROENICK: It's huge. I think our popularity has jumped as well. Our game is much more popular now than it was when I started. A lot more people are getting into it, a lot more cities. The talent level has grown as to where it's every single night you can't rest. Every night there is so much parody.

JEREMY ROENICK: I definitely think that the talent is diluted because of the amount of teams. I couldn't imagine what this game would be like if it was still a 21-team league. You try to compact the amount of talent that's in the game right now with 21 teams, it would make me wonder if I could still play at this level. There is some sick talent out there. You've got the young kids like Heatley and Kovalchuk and the Hossa, all of the young kids coming up, not to say that they would ever take away teams.

JEREMY ROENICK: I don't see why not. I think next year's going to be an interesting year all around, but I would hope so. I think what baseball did with the All-Star Game in terms of it making the winner get home field advantage, I think it makes it more exciting. You're going to get a better game because of it.

JEREMY ROENICK: It's an honor to be here and be representing one, your team, and two, as one of the best players of the game. If you want to rest and you don't want to come out and have some fun, this is a fun weekend to be recognized as one of the best players of the game. It should be an honor, it should not be a hassle. I definitely think that we have an obligation to make our sport the most popular as possible to make it more accessible to people, to teach people. We need the best players trying to sell our game. I do think it's an obligation. I look at it as one from my personal standpoint. I would never shun it. I can see the only exception is the guys with injuries making sure they're ready for their own clubs using this time to recover.