You seem more excited for this season than I’ve seen from you in the past. Is that …
I’m pissed. Yeah, I’m pissed. I’m pissed for my players. I’m pissed for my organization. And I’m pissed on behalf of my city.
Pissed because of the players that decided to leave?
I have a tremendous amount of respect for all of them. I do. A tremendous amount of respect. But don’t talk about goddamn winning, like you want to go somewhere to win. It’s right there in front of you. I say that very carefully because I like them all. We had lots of meetings. We had to straighten things out in certain ways at certain times last season when it was kind of going off the tracks. I’ll go individually. Dutchie (Duchene) … he’s a hockey guy, and I loved being around him. He played really well for us. But he wanted to leave. Panarin … he just did so many great things. At 170 pounds, he’s one of the strongest guys I’ve ever coached. You know how I feel about him. It’s ridiculous (how good he is). But he left. Bob is one hell of a goalie. Bob, in the last three years, has taken step by step by step in the playoffs. He was really good, he improved in these playoffs. If he doesn’t make that save (start of the second period) in Game 1 against Tampa, who knows where it goes? That’s how it works. I respect them all. But I don’t want to hear “I want to win” when it’s right f***ing here. I respect them, but I’m really pissed. It was right there, where we were really progressing. Maybe they don’t like playing for me. That’s fine. To me, eventually, you’re not playing for the coach, you’re playing for your teammates, and that’s where I saw the camaraderie and the arrogance … I could see all of that building. I guess I feel like the players. I think the players respect them, respect the rights they had to do what they did. But I’m pissed, too, just like the players. I’m saying, “Hell with them, we want to be here, let’s get it together and get going.” I wish them nothing but the best, but I’m pissed that they leave Columbus, because I think we’ve got a really good thing going here.