Spectacular Sportspeople: Exclusive Interview with Mover and Shaker Andre Lacroix on the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs Our Coverage Sponsored by Maine Woolens
Andre Lacroix as a player
photo credit: Hartford Whalers site
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Andre Lacroix today
WHA Hall of Famer and Mover and Shaker Andre Lacroix is right up there with Mr. Hockey himself, Gordie Howe and vice versa. We are lucky to have Andre's commentary each time the most wonderful time of the year comes around: The Stanley Cup Finals.
Here's what he thought in 2012:
In only hours after The Stanley Cup was awarded last night, Andre answered our questions and we thank him very much. After all it's not who you know, it's Whom You Know. We could not be more thrilled to present our latest interview with Andre and for all owners of NHL teams or hockey organizations reading this, you could not find a more high caliber person to be involved with your team. How do we know? We've known him this long:
Andre and Peachy
We are honored to present Andre Lacroix as our latest feature in Spectacular Sportspeople!
Peachy Deegan interviewed Andre Lacroix for Whom You Know.
Peachy Deegan: This series was so evenly matched. What other series in the Stanley Cup Finals have also been equally matched in the history of the sport, and how does this one compare?
Andre Lacroix: I don’t remember a series like this one. It looked like Basketball where you wait until the last few minutes of the game to see the result. The difference between Basketball and hockey is that hockey players play with injuries and don’t find excuses for it. This is the best Stanley Cup finals that I remember because both teams were so well-matched.
Have you ever seen such an exciting finish with a clincher at the end like this with the Cup determined in about the last minute?
I've never seen anything like it. Hockey needs a finish like this to have everybody talk about it even if you are not a Blackhawk fan.
If that ending didn't get new fans for the sport of hockey, we don't know what will. What should potential fans know about why hockey is the best game on earth?
People hear about how tough the hockey players are and it is evidenced throughout the whole playoffs. Players skating off the ice with a broken leg, players playing with broken ribs, p
layers getting hit in the face with the puck and we could go on and on. The reason hockey is the best game on earth is because not everybody can skate and use their hockey skills on the ice. The NHL has done a better job for new fans to understand the game. I thought the broadcasters and the people between periods did an outstanding job explaining what was happening on the ice so the fans could understand the game better.
Do you wish Boston won Game 6 and it went to 7?
No. All the games were exciting but here we are at the end of June and playing hockey. I believe even if the ratings were good, the ratings would have been even better if the finals were held in May.
Did you ever score 2 goals in just seconds like that or were you on a team that did?
I was never on a team that accomplished what the Blackhawks did but this is something that the NHL needs to use to promote the game of hockey and maybe fans won’t leave early when they think their team has no chance to win.
We think both teams get an A for effort in every game. What creates passion to win in a player when they are running on empty, particularly in multiple OT's?
You drink a lot and you don’t think about being tired because you are playing for the biggest prize in Hockey and you have all summer to rest.
You had said you were pulling for Chicago too. What won you over?
I played for Chicago and I was so happy for Joel Quenneville. He is a great coach and an even better individual.
Do you think the Blackhawks can repeat next year? Why or why not, and what other teams do you see as strong contenders?
It is so hard to say because of the salary cap. I did not think they would win that soon after they won the last one because you know players will test the market. Management and coaches have done a tremendous job finding the right pieces to win the Cup again. I think Pittsburgh will win next year. The new players they received before the playoffs will have more time to adjust to the team. They have the best team in the league but the best team does not always win.
What do you love most about the game today?
I love the fact that nobody anymore can buy a Championship. In the past you had big market teams who had so much money that they tried to buy a championship. Now with the salary cap all the teams are even. Other sports could learn a lot from the NHL and players agreement.
What should the world know about Joel Quenneville, whom we believe you knew from Hartford? I said it earlier and I would like to add that Joel is a player’s coach who will always give credit to others before he takes credit himself.
What is the difference between successful coaching and coaching that doesn't make the grade?Successful coaches will surround themselves with good assistants coaches and use them. Too many teams hire assistant coaches because they are still under contract and sometimes the coach and the assistant coaches don’t agree. You also have management sometimes who tell the head coach who the assistant coach will be and that will become a disaster. Great coaches will pick who they want to work with and average coaches will work with designated assistants coaches from the management.
How do you like Kevin Dineen as coach in Florida?
Kevin will bring the Cup to Florida in the near future. He is an outstanding coach who understands the game so well. He just needs a few more good players and he will make it.
And Dave Tippett as coach in Phoenix?
Dave has been successful everywhere he coached. They were smart to reward him with a long term contract. Players love to play for him.
Did you know any players involved with this series or others in the Bruins or Blackhawks organizations and what impresses you most about them?
The players are too young for me to remember them. What impresses me the most about the players today is their conditioning. When I played the average height was about 5’10 and 185 lbs. Today the average has to be 6’3 and 215 and they are playing in the same size rink. It is a lot more physical today because they don’t have as much room as we did when I played because of the size of the players.
You mentioned that it is difficult to see players past their prime-what defines this and when should a player know when to retire?
It is so hard to say. Many players do not want to retire because they like to be around each other. Other players don’t want to retire because they make too much money. Other players want to see if they could be on a Stanley Cup team. Other players don’t know what they would do if they retired. Other players feel they have one more good year but the game is too fast and too physical today. We saw it with Jagr in the playoffs.
This season had a rough start with the lockout. Administratively, what does the NHL and the NHLPA (players association) need to do to have the season go more smoothly in total?
I believe they worked out a good agreement that both sides seem to be happy with. The NHL can’t afford to miss any part of a season because it is not a national sport in the USA like it is in Canada. The people have other choices to watch other sports and you don’t want to give them the opportunity to switch. The NHL needs to promote their start better and use the stars who retire to promote the game by having them going around the league and meeting people and talk about the great game of hockey.
We liked how Claude Julien did part of the post-game press conference in French. What are the best French words and phrases to describe how phenomenal hockey is?
Magnifique, tres bon, splendide, meilleure partie au monde!
Would you have picked Patrick Kane for Conn Smythe-why or why not?
It was hard to pick somebody. He was not the best player on the team in the playoffs. I believe they gave it to him because of the number of goals he scored. The Conn Smythe trophy should have gone to the whole team.
How clutch was goaltending in this series?
I thought that the Boston goalie made a lot more key saves than the Chicago goalie. I thought the Chicago defense helped their goalie more than the Boston defense.
At the start of the season would you have imagined these two teams in the finals-why or why not? I would not have thought that Boston would be there. Toronto should have won the last game they played. I still can’t believe the Toronto coach did not get fired after their last lost to Boston. I am not surprised with Chicago but I really believed at the start of the season that Pittsburgh would go all the way. I did not expect the Kings to repeat. I expected Carolina to do better.
Do you have any other comments?
I wish that more major networks would embrace hockey the way they do with the other sports. Maybe it is because there is nobody working for them that loves hockey. They would probably changed their mind if they went and watched a game live in Chicago, Philadelphia or Boston.
We wish the Rangers named you the new head coach but perhaps they will read this. In the 90's when The Hartford Courant published Peachy's Letters to the Editor about why the Whalers should hire Joel Q. from the Springfield Indians we think we had a smaller audience, or the Whalers just weren't listening and now they're in North Carolina. We think you should be, but why do you think you should be the next coach to hire in the NHL?
I think there is too much politics involved with coaching. I tried before and I was told that the coach had to keep the assistants that were already there. I helped a coach before get a job and he told me that if he got a job, he would bring me along and his memory was very short. The NHL coaching situation is a recycling business. They all try to protect each other in case they get fired and they get hired for more money somewhere else. Look what happened in New York and Vancouver. I always believed I had something to bring to the table but maybe I am too old.
