George McPhee Quotes (44 Quotes)

Why wouldn't we solicit his opinion Why wouldn't we want to discuss this with him We respect his opinion, and we respect him. He's a big part of our competitiveness. We wanted to talk to him about personnel. We wanted to keep him, and we got both done.

We've had him rated No. 1 for a long time. We could have done a trade for volume, but none of those players would have been as good as this guy.

It's been a long time and a long, hard struggle. I was expecting a decision today but I think it'll be the answer we're looking for.

I have respect for Glenn and the enthusiasm that he has. I like the culture that he had in Portland and I liked what I was hearing in the locker room there. He's right, the process has to come first and if we have that, the wins will come later.

We're pulling for him. We hope he comes along and is just fine.

Alexander is an incredibly gifted young player, and we are excited to have him join our club.

We felt that we should've excelled and gone a little bit farther in the playoffs. But we think we are a playoff team and we hope to be better this year. There were certainly some positive things about last year. We missed out on the division by one point. We felt like we were having a good playoff series and got some bad breaks and it didn't go our way. But the objective is to go as far as you can, and we think we are capable of going farther.

Getting Jeff was a move we may have made anyway, ... It doesn't close the door on Semin or Sykora, but we're not going to just sit here and wait for them, either. We are going to cover our bases.

The thing we have to understand is that Alex was in the homeland, playing for a professional team over there, he was in training camp and was earning a substantial amount of money. So the decision was not easy for him. But he wanted to come to Washington. He's a terrific young man who is going to be here for a long time.

It's a personal decision that we understand and respect, ... We're living in a more enlightened age, especially in sports, and you have to sensitive to these things and understand that certain things in life supersede sport.

Probably with the rest of the draft we'll just take the best player that's available when we get to each pick.

He has been playing at an elite level for several seasons and is ready to prove himself in the NHL. We look forward to having him in a Capitals' uniform for many years. He has an infectious style of play and displays an exciting combination speed, finesse and power.

Jeff is worthy of this for a lot of reasons, ... He has the maturity, the talent, the experience, the leadership. But he has a neat perspective of this club that not many people with this club, or any club would have about their team.

We don't know what's going to transpire, what team it's going to be. When the right deal is there, it will happen and we'll evaluate the trade from there.

It's nice to see that players who know how to play the game will be able to excel.

We do know that McPhee will try to find those puppies a good home, and then he, like the rest of the Capitals, can settle in and get ready to watch the playoffs on TV. I'm not going to be rooting for anyone particular, ... But I do have prediction One of our guys is going to win the Stanley Cup.

Simply put, he's one of the finest athletes and gentlemen that you can find on any team in any sport. This sends a great message to his teammates and our fan base. The message is We're going to do this right, we're going to build it right and get the right people here. Certainly Olie is that kind of person.

I'm hopeful we'll have a couple of days between the completion of a new collective bargaining agreement and the deadline to get something done,

Some teams are going to regret the long-term free agent deals in a few years. The salary cap could go down next year. That would put some teams in quite a bind. We're committed to playing our young players next season.

Alexander Ovechkin will be here, ... He made a commitment to us when he opted out of his Russian contract. Our fans will see Alex in a Capitals uniform next season.

We're going to play the younger guys. That was our plan all along. We're going to find out if some of these young guys can play.

His preference, ... was to sit in front of us, look us in the eye, sign the contract and shake our hands. He's a quality individual and a phenomenal hockey player.

Mike will be back, ... He had an excellent camp, and we anticipate that this will be a short-term move.

Our strategy is to spend money on the right player at the right price,

Overall, I think all the things that have been done to the game are good for the game,

It's Jamie's mobility and ability to move the puck, ... The days of having defensemen who just defend may be waning. With today's game, and the pace and tempo, and the requirement that a defenseman has to be able to make plays, makes Jamie as attractive as ever.

We're getting mixed signals regarding Semin. He's in violation of his contract and we're going to be as aggressive as we can to remedy this. We're frustrated and disappointed. We feel we've done all the right things. This is a real talented player who should be here.

Ivan has been terrific. He's been working hard. It's always hard to know with these injuries. We told him that when our doctor and trainer think he's ready to go, he'll play.

We have been assured by legal counsel that both the ruling and the attempt to enforce it in the U.S. are without merit,

Alex is in a tough situation, ... He wants to play hockey and he wants to play for the Capitals. But he made a decision based on the facts as they stand today. . . . Based on our conversations with Alex, he's not driven by the money. He wants to prove himself in the NHL.

He's a real building block for this organization, a major injection of talent into this team, ... He's an exciting player that the fans are going to enjoy watching. He sets the tone for the entire team with the way he plays.

It's the first step. Essentially, the court has agreed with the Capitals that what's taking place isn't proper.

At this point, he is in violation of his contract. We are going to be as aggressive as we can to remedy this,

We're pleased that the court has dismissed the case. We felt all along that the suit had little merit and are not surprised that the judge agreed.

I think we have a good idea what the outcome is going to be, hopefully. But it is not entirely over yet. I wish it was. It has been a long time, a long, hard struggle.

Jeff brings speed, Stanley Cup-winning experience and leadership to our locker room. We look forward to having him on our hockey club.

It's generally the best time to get someone, when they've put in a few years with one organization and they are trying to break through, ... Hopefully, we've got them at the right time. Needless to say, there are tremendous opportunities this year for veteran players to get more ice time than they ever had.

We're not going to make huge commitments early on, ... But, as we've seen with Ted in the past, if we think we have a chance, we'll go for it. The resources will be there.

We have done everything we could to avoid this step, but we felt we had no choice but to now seek a legal remedy.

Certainly, this year we'd expect him to earn a regular shift. In time, we certainly hope he'll be one of the guys who sets the tone for the team and leads the club.

Alexander has agreed to fulfill his commitment to the Capitals, and we believe he can play a key role in our future.

I thought he was a player that didn't have any flaws. But what was most impressive was that in addition to his talent was the way he competed. He worked his tail off every shift. He always wanted the puck. He was either putting himself in position to get the puck or he was going to get it himself.

Alex exercised his right to opt out of the Russian contract this past summer and signed with the Capitals. We are confident that the court will uphold Alex's contractual status and decision.

Just to have hockey in our building is going to be terrific for all of us. The game's back, it's better than it was and we're all looking forward to a full year of hockey.