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10 Questions Prof. Oates' lessons in chemistry, history and business
Posted: Friday January 07, 2000 12:12 AM
Adam Oates, undrafted out of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has since cracked the top 20 on the NHL's all-time assists list. He is a five-time All-Star and one of the most respected playmakers in the NHL. CNNSI.com caught up with Oates in Atlanta on Jan. 6, 2000
1. In a teleconference recently, Brett Hull, as always, spoke pretty highly of you. He said all the usual things, that you're the best center a goal-scorer would ever want to play with, etc ... Obviously you guys had a pretty unique playing relationship. Yeah, we did. We had a great relationship on and off the ice. Super guy. The year he scored 86 was the best year ever in the history of goal-scoring. I know Gretz had 92. But Hully scored 86 and he didn't have a four-goal game, he didn't have a short-handed goal, he didn't have an empty-net goal. That means every single night he scored but he never totally lit it up, so it was always two-a-night kind of thing. It was phenomenal. The best year ever.
2. He also called your trade out of St. Louis "the worst trade the Blues ever made." Of course, for an organization that had Mike Keenan as a GM, there are a lot to choose from. But would you agree with that? Was that the worst trade St. Louis ever made? Mine was before Keenan, but yeah. But, you know, financially things were kind of different then. They kind of promised us some stuff that never happened. It's over now. That was a long time ago. 3. Besides Brett, what wingers in the league would you really want to center? I've been very fortunate, having played with Hully and Cam Neely ... and they were both great. Jagr. Pretty easy. Jaromir Jagr is at the top of our league right now. Obviously he's a great sniper, but he's also a guy who can beat people and get you the puck. That's a rare quality. There aren't too many one-on-one guys in this league. There's a lot. Kariya. Selanne. Bure. Jagr. Brendan Shanahan, kind of more fits the mold of a guy who needs somebody to get him the puck and the player needs him to shoot it. So I think he would be a guy that I would have great chemistry with because he's a smart guy in terms of reading the play. 4. Do those relationships seem to be disappearing a little bit ... the personal center? Yes and no. Salaries have dictated a lot of things in the league and guys don't stay with teams too long. Chemistry sometimes happens and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it's a fluke. I never would have envisioned Hully and I having the years we did, but we both just happened to land in St. Louis at the right time. Look at Kurri and Gretzky, pretty unique.
Look at Stockton and Malone. Are you ever going to have that again? Probably never. 5. Did you push Hully pretty hard when he was a free agent, trying to get him to Washington? No. Obviously, sentimentally, I would have loved to have him and I know Ron Wilson likes him as a player. But he's married with kids. He had to think about his family first. 6. Any favorite monuments in Washington? Do you ever visit, say, the Lincoln Memorial for inspiration? I go to the changing of the guard a lot (at the tomb of the unknown soldier). I take everybody there. I think it's the coolest thing in the world. That's the only tour for me. It's unbelievable. 7. The '98 playoff run to the finals is looked back upon as kind of fluky by the media. Is that really unfair to you guys? And why did this team fall off the map the way it did? Funny you talk about chemistry, but, yeah, I think it was a little fluky. But you look at the East and everything is fluky. Every year you have a different team coming out. That particular year we played well down the stretch, we added a couple of guys, we had a good chemistry, maybe you play the right teams, we had hot goaltending ... and we played well. It's funny, you look at our lineup now and we have a lot of different guys. Contracts dictate things. Injuries. We really got hit hard. We had so many injuries last year it was pathetic. Nobody could have done anything. Look at Atlanta's football team right here, right? You look at 'em and you say, "Same team." But two weeks into the season and they're not the same team. You could say, "What happened to them?" Well, injuries. Quarterback and running back, bye bye, season's over. You can patch the holes as much as you want. Same in any sport. 8. You want to plug your sporting apparel? I've heard it's pretty unique. Yeah, some buddies and I have a clothing line called "Old Time Hockey" and it's an apparel line more than just a hockey line. We're in stores all over the country. It's growing, we have an NHL license. It's good quality. We give a percentage back to the NHL Emergency Fund for players in need (The web address is www.oldtimehockey.com). 9. Are you a good businessman? Nah. I'm a hockey player. 10. Last question: Think you'll be a Capital at the end of this season? I hope so. You never know. (Trade rumors) are the nature of the game, especially as you get older. But I hope so.
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