CLASSIC QUOTES FROM THE NHL'S PAST PART 1

"I Didn't Drop My Gloves. They Were Pulled Off Me!" -Mike Modano

"If We Lose...We're All Screwed." -Tony Amonte

"No one in Montreal learns how to skate. You're just born that way." -- Martin Brodeur

Theodore-"When I was 11 or 12 years old I remember my mom always said, 'Put a tuque on, you'll catch a cold.' I just wanted to make sure she's not going to say anything when I go back home, so I put a tuque on."-on why he wore a touque during the heritage game vs. edmonton

"Ty [his son], who just loves hockey, said to me the other day, 'Dad, I want to play in the Olympics some day, for Canada.' I told him that might be tough: 'You're an American.'"
-- 3/25/01: -- Gretzky on his son's Olympic hopes

"I could watch Paul Kariya play with himself all day"
-- Tom Larscheid

"I don't know what to think. I play in Colorado, they tell me they like me, I get traded. I play in Calgary, Sutter tells me he likes me, and I get traded. I just hope my fiancee doesn't tell me she likes me." -Chris Drury

"Why is a puck called a puck? Because dirty little bastard was taken." - Martin Brodeur

Tie Domi, which rearranged spells, Me Idiot

"Maybe because he's a Mark Messier and I'm just a Wade Belak" -Wade Belak on his 8 game suspension.

"Optional is latin for "be there"" - Darryl Sutter on practises

" America is a wonderful place. You have 15 brands of mayonnaise."
- Lada Fetisov, wife of Viacheslav Fetisov

''No, I don't fight anybody I played against in Juniors. I think everyone I played Juniors with is dead now." Kelly Buchberger

When asked about Jeremy Roenick's comments, Patrick Roy stated "Sorry, I couldn't hear him. I had two cup rings stuffed in my ears."

"Are you guys gonna fight? 'Cause if you're not I'm gonna put this whistle away and beat the sh!t out of both of you." - Paul Stewart when reffing an AHL game early in his career.

After a streaker jumped on the ice in Calgary Joe Thornton was asked if he thought it was a Boston fan, Thornton replied with a grin, ``I don't think so, he had red socks on. You guys can have him.''

"I hope we can get past Toronto for two reasons. It would be nice to get to the finals again. But secondly, those guys are so cocky it's unbelievable."
- Carolina's Martin Gelinas, during the Eastern Conference Final between the Hurricanes and Maple Leafs.

"We can't score goals, we can't stop goals, we aren't hitting, we can't play on special teams. . . we all stink. We can try to improve but to do so we will need to make trades. And who would want our players that are underachieving?" Capitals GM Ted Leonsis, after forgetting to take his Prozac throughout the month of November

"My mom, she keeps telling me she wants a goal. I tell her: 'Hey mom, I'm tryin', I'm tryin',' every day." --Boston Bruins winger P.J. Stock on his goal-shy NHL career.

"There have been so many fights this year. Everybody's contract must be up." --Sens tough guy Andre Roy.

"I had a (Detroit fan) yelling at me on my own bench. I was waiting for a (Phoenix fan) to stand up and do something. I don't want to say, 'Start a fight.' But at least throw some popcorn on the guy." --Phoenix Coyotes defenceman Todd Simpson after being heckled during a home game.

"It's always good to have the building filled, even if it's with low-IQ Rangers fans." - Isles GM Mike Milbury before a game against the New York Rangers at home.

"My son wants to be a goalie. I'm trying to deter him from that. I say: 'Go score goals, have fun. If you have a bad game, nobody really notices.’" - Roman Turek to his son.

"I've been traded 15 times since I came to the Canucks. I'm still here. It's been five years. The joke is over. I'm not going to talk about it anymore." --Todd Bertuzzi to reporters after incessant questions about trade rumours.

"Well, Edmonton tries to copy everything we do. They don't have a mind of their own. That's just par for the course for people up in Edmonton -- 'Hey, look what Calgary's doing. Oh, that sounds good. We'll try that.'"
-- 7/1/02: Flames general manager Craig Button after the Oilers traded with the New York Rangers to get goalie Mike Richter, in the hopes of landing a compensatory pick

"That's what playoff hockey's about. One day you're God. The next day you've got no heart. The only way to understand it is to feel it. As far as our effort goes, don't question that."
-- 4/26/02: Chicago coach Brian Sutter after a season ending loss to St. Louis

"People here want the team to win and to do well. The thing is, we know when to shoot the puck."
-- 4/19/02: Steve Yzerman's thoughts on the Detroit fans yelling "Shoot the puck" during the game

"In short, we're like 11-year-olds watching Scream. Only our Scream runs three times a week and the ending is always different."
-- 4/7/02: Vancouver sportswriter Ed Willes on the unusually tight Western Conference playoff run, and how it feels to be a fan watching it

Quotes found in the archives of Canuck's Corner.