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Dave Andreychuk Press Conference from November 9, 1999
Posted: Wednesday November 10, 1999 06:46 PM
Question: Is there anything about the way the game is being played this year that has made it possible for you to get off to this start? Dave Andreychuk: I don't think anything has really changed. A lot of guys are getting off to good starts. I think specialty teams, the power plays are doing a lot better than they were a year ago. But nothing else has really changed. They are still calling as many penalties and the two-referee system seems to be working. Like I said, I don't think much has really changed. Question: What about the new crease rule, does that play into your hands a little bit more than the old one? Dave Andreychuk: You don't have to worry about it as much anymore. I think, now, when you are going to the net; especially when you are standing around in front of the net, you can get closer to the goalie. That has helped. I don't know if the goalies have really seen much of a difference. But last year, everybody was getting goals called back and I don't think that -- obviously that is not happening this year, so, it is helping everybody. Question: I am wondering if you could talk about the difference between what was expected of you your last couple of years in New Jersey and what is expected of you in Boston?
Dave Andreychuk: Basically I had a couple of bad years in Jersey the last couple of years. I ran into some injuries. Those two teams in Jersey were pretty good hockey teams as both teams won the conference. Coming over to Boston, I knew the system. I knew Pat Burns. They have got some good young forwards. They have had some playoff experience in the last couple of years. They have had couple of good runs, and, for myself, just coming over here, my role has not really changed. I have to be counted on offensively. But, I think more importantly, with some of the younger forwards that we have here, I think my experience would help. I am sure that is one of the reasons why they signed me. Question: Can you talk about how the team went from being 0-5-4 to winning six in a row; what has changed there? Dave Andreychuk: Well, confidence more than anything else. I think we were a little hesitant at the start of the year. We weren't making the right decisions and that resulted in us losing some games. I think we were close. I don't think our record really indicated the way we had played. We should have won at least two or three games in that stretch that we didn't win. We just didn't play for 60 minutes. We gave up some goals at the end of games that cost us. But basically, it just came down to the guys feeling more comfortable. You could see that their confidence level was growing game by game. More importantly, I think we are on a little bit of a high right now. We seem to be playing with -- not that we are playing recklessly, but I think you can just see the confidence - guys want the puck; guys want to do something with it and it is resulting in us getting some wins. Question: I just want to know what goes through a player's mind when you have played as long as you have and the team you play on doesn't think you can contribute anymore. Are you trying to prove people wrong or are you starting -- do you have any doubts in your own mind that maybe they are right? Dave Andreychuk: Well, I think you got to prove to yourself more than anything else. That was the key for me this summer: I did not want to end my career on what happened in the last couple of years in Jersey; not only personally, but just with the way things happened in the playoffs for us. So that is the way I approached the summer. I had to prove to myself that I could still play. I still wanted to play, obviously, and that is the key, that I had the desire to get ready for the season. So far, I mean it has only been 15 games and we still have a lot of hockey to go. Question: Last year when you got 15 goals and this year you have already got 11. Do you say to yourself those two seasons are about as far apart as you could possibly imagine? Dave Andreychuk: Offensively, obviously. I did get off to a pretty good start last year in Jersey; then I ran into some injuries. I had a hard time getting back on track. So I don't think there is too much of a difference the way that the start of the season has gone. But, the key for me right now is I got to stay injury-free. Obviously I am getting a chance here. I am playing a lot. And I have to take advantage of it. Question: How much does the relationship with Pat change things for you, either his confidence in you or your confidence in him and knowing that he will judge you honestly?
Dave Andreychuk: That's one of the reasons that I signed here. I knew that he knew me as a player. I had some good years under him in Toronto -- him, and the system -- so that was one of the reasons that I signed here. I don't think there is anything special with the way the system works and the way I play. I think it is just a good mix for me. Sometimes it is tough when you are going to a new team, you got to learn a new system. For me I knew that would be an easy change for me. Question: Teams like Boston, and Toronto, to some extent and some other teams are trying to open things up. Do you see a trend maybe back to a little bit more offensive hockey? Dave Andreychuk: Well, I know the teams are starting to forecheck a lot more. There are not many teams that are sitting back anymore. We are one of them, in that we would rather make players make mistakes; force players into mistakes, than sit back and let the team come to us. Everybody in the whole League is practicing to beat the trap. We all know that teams are watching it on film and everybody is practicing it. I think it is getting easier for teams to beat a team that sits back and waits for you to come to it because you are ready for it now. And more importantly, you have to establish a good forecheck and I think teams turn it over that way. Question: I talked to Kyle McLaren right after Dafoe was signed. He said he thought even with Dafoe signed that the team still needed a few more pieces to become a solid contender. What is your reaction to that? Do you agree? Disagree? Dave Andreychuk: You can see the confidence in the team. I wasn't here last year when he was around, but you could see that everybody has been uplifted when the news came across that he had signed. I think we are a pretty solid team. We are playing four lines and most times we got a good defensive core. We are a team that is not going to have one guy that is going to win a game for us. We don't have a standout player that can take charge of a game and we are going to have to play with four lines all the time and establish that we are a hard working team that have to continue to play that way. Question: You were talking before about power plays. In the NHL, the last five or six years, power play efficiency was down quite a bit. Can you see any reason why things are turning around a little bit this season? There seems to be some teams with pretty healthy power play percentages. Dave Andreychuk: Well, I think, more importantly, you are getting more opportunities. More penalties are being called, so there are more specialty teams. But, more than the power play, I think the penalty killing is not as good as it was. The penalty killing in the last few years have been pretty aggressive. There are not too many teams that sit back and get into a box. When that happens, teams' power plays seem to do pretty well. In the last few years they have been very aggressive and maybe it is that power plays are getting ready for that. I know that we watched it on film. When you have an aggressive penalty killing unit against you, two or three good passes you should get a chance. Maybe teams are more aware that penalty killing is going to be aggressive. Obviously, like you said, I mean, the power play percentages are up in the whole league. Question: You mentioned about the system. We always hear that: "I fit well in this system." Can you be specific; what is it about Pat's system that is favorable to your game?
Dave Andreychuk: I think that it allows the wingers to have a little bit of freedom to forecheck. You keep it simple. You are able to be aggressive forechecking. Even if you are in a setup system, you are still able to get on the puck; I think that has helped me. More importantly is that you are given the green light to go offensively at all sometimes. That has helped my game. Question: You mentioned all the injuries you have had. What injuries did you have? Dave Andreychuk: My right ankle was broken the last two years. One was at the end of the year. The other one was right in the middle of the year. It took me a little while to come back, as I probably rushed it a little bit too early. So I came back; then I struggled to get back into form. Question: Early on you had touched on this. Had you given any thought after last season or even the season before to retirement? Was it a thought that had started crossing your mind before you decided to come with the Bruins this year? Dave Andreychuk: I don't think so. I think, like I said before, that I still had the desire to train; to get ready to play. As soon as the year had ended in Jersey, there was kind of writing on the wall that I wouldn't be signed there again. I think I just felt that I still wanted to play. I still wanted to prove to myself that I could play, so really there wasn't much of a thought of retirement at all. It was the first time that I had been a total free agent so I knew I wanted to see what teams were interested. Question: What was it about the Bruins that did attract you? Was it going to work with, like you said, Burns again? Dave Andreychuk: That was one. I know I wanted to stay on the east coast. I felt that this team was on the rise with the good young forwards, as they have had a couple of years of good playoff runs in them. Some of the younger players had gained some playoff experience. It is a team that has come on. I felt that they were probably -- them and Buffalo -- were the two best teams at the end of the year last year. It was just one of those decisions that, like I said, I came into a system and a coach that had known me. I played well under him in the past, so, that is why I signed here. Question: Just briefly, what is your take on the new 4-on-4 overtime; do you like it, are you a fan of it? Dave Andreychuk: I have still got my thoughts whether it is going to work or not. I think right now it is exciting to the fans. There are some scoring chances. We had a couple of 4-on-4 overtimes out west. I thought it was a lot different than the ones that we had had in the east. But I think come down into the stretch drive when points are going pretty valuable, you are going to see that the 4-on-4 is going to change a lot. Teams are not going to open up as much because if you are losing a point to a team that is in your conference, it could be a key point. But for right now, I think it is exciting to the fans. It is exciting to the players that you still -- you have a point in the bank; you might as well go for another one.
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