Quotes
Others on Hašek |
Not Everyone loves Hašek... |
Hašek on Hašek
Alphabetical list of People Quoted Here
Alphabetical list of People Quoted Here
Others on Hašek
[Return to Index]
Sergei Federov
Russian Forward, after Czech Republic put Team USA out of the Olympics and go on to face Canada in the SemiFinalsQuoted from Canoe article by Neil Stevens
Russian forward Sergei Fedorov was asked who he would pick to win a Canada-Czech showdown. "I don't bet," he replied. "I don't go to Las Vegas. "But Dominik Hasek is the greatest goaltender in the world, I think, and he seems to be having a good time at the Olympics where he faces fewer shots."
[Obviously Federov was not aware that Hašek had saved 38 of 39 shots, some of which were excellent scoring chances, to lead the Czech Republic to a 4-1 victory over the USA]
Vladimir Ruzicka
Czech Team Captain at Nagano"I've never seen a better goalie," Czech captain Vladimir Ruzicka said. "Some of the saves he made were unbelievable. His legs were going over here, his hands were going over there. He's the best goaltender in the world. We know we only have to score one or two goals."
Ron Wilson
Team USA coach after their 4-1 loss to the Czech Team at Nagano"We had a number of scoring chances but Dominik Hasek was just unbelievable. It just seemed that we couldn't finish off, especially in the last two games, the opportunities that we managed to create. I'm proud of our effort today. I know it doesn't look good on paper, losing four to one but we never gave up. It's unfortunate that we couldn't find a way to solve Dominik Hasek."
Jaromir Jagr
Czech Teammate, after Czech Republic shutout Finland 3-0 at Nagano"Hasek was the key to the game. He's a gift to us and can win games by himself."
Martin Rucinsky
Montreal Canadiens and Czech National Team, after Czech Republic shutout Finland 3-0 at Nagano"We all know Dominik is the best goalie in the NHL. When he's on top of his game, you know that you can win and hopefully he will do it again,".
....And after Montreal's 4-1 loss at the Molson Centre (7 Feb 1998). Quoted in the Montreal Gazette
"We got down 2-0 and it's difficult to come back against this team, particularly when (Dominik) Hasek is playing that well."
"I've been telling everyone that he's the best goaltender in the league," said Martin Rucinsky, who will be Hasek's teammate on the Czech team at Nagano.
Rucinsky had a clear breakaway against Hasek, but the goalie made the stop. It wasn't a surprise to Rucinsky. "I think I beat him once last year on a long shot, but I've had lots of breakaways and I've never beaten him. I keep trying different things, but he always stops me. That's why I think we have a chance at the Olympics.
"He doesn't look good. He looks awkward, but he stops the puck."
"At the Olympics, I'd practice taking penalty shots on him every day. I couldn't beat him. Usually in that kind of situation, I'd be able to score about 50 percent of the time. Against him, not once. He has no weaknesses.''
Lindy Ruff
Buffalo Sabres Coach"I don't know if you can even put into words my appreciation for the way this guy plays."
"He's the best I've ever seen," credited Ruff. "The best I've ever been around. Dom spoils you every night."
Scott Thornton
Montreal Canadiens, after Montreal's 4-1 loss at the Molson Centre (7 Feb 1998)."If you're talking about one goaltender who can get the job done," said Thornton, "I guess you'd have to say he's the guy, especially in a short series. Let's put it this way: he's made it work for this team (Buffalo) for a few years."
Andy Moog
Montreal Canadiens, who didn't play in Montreal's 4-1 loss at the Molson Centre (7 Feb 1998). Quoted in the Montreal GazetteCanadiens goaltender Andy Moog pronounced Hasek as the best goaltender he's seen during the past few years.
"He's made believers out of that team," said Moog.
Pat Burns
Boston Bruins Coach, before a 2-2 tie at Buffalo (4 Feb 1998)Asked before the game how to beat Hasek, last year's NHL MVP, Burns smiled.
"Take a cannon off one of the boats in the back there [the Buffalo Naval Park], put the puck in it, and fire it at him," said the coach. "He's pretty good. Anything he can see he'll stop. You have to get some traffic in front of him or some tips, which all good goaltenders have trouble handling. That's the way you're going to beat him, but you're not going to beat him on a clean 35-footer coming in over the blue line. He's like Patrick Roy or Martin Brodeur - you have to get a tip, have to get someone in the shooting path that maybe he can't see. That's the only way to do it."
Jacques Demers
Tampa Bay Lightning Coach, following a 4-1 loss to Buffalo (23 Jan 1998)"We just played against the greatest goaltender in the world," Lightning coach Jacques Demers said. "We allowed three goals [plus one empty netter] and we should've won 4-3. ... I just felt we had more chances in this game than we had in the last 10 games. I've never seen our power play move the puck around like the way we did, we had great chances and we were stopped by the greatest goaltender in the world."
Sami Kapanen
Carolina Hurricane, quoted in the Carolina News and Record after losing 2-1 to Buffalo (21 Jan 1998)Hasek finished the night with 32 saves, doing most of his dirty work in the first two periods including a miraculous glove save from his back to rob Sami Kapanen of a seemingly certain goal in the closing seconds of the first.
"It's the kind of save you only see a couple times a year," said
Kapanen. "This time it happened to me. There's nothing you can do. You try to laugh."
Jeff O'Neill
Carolina Hurricanes, after losing 2-1 to Buffalo (21 Jan 1998)"He is the best goaltender in the league," O'Neill said of Hasek. "I thought we had some quality opportunities and he made some big saves."
Michael Peca
Buffalo Team mate"We're glad he's on our team," Sabres captain Michael Peca said. "Any time there's a big play in the game that goes our way, Dom is usually involved in it."
Wayne Gretzky
The Great One"If I had to pick three players to start a franchise, I'd choose Hasek, Peter Forsberg and Eric Lindros."
Jason Woolley
Fellow Buffalo Sabre"Dominik just makes saves that leave you shaking your head," said Sabres defenseman Jason Woolley. "You don't want to say you expect it, because that's not fair to Dom."
Teemu Selanne
Team mate on the World All Star Team 1998"I told him in two games this year against him I couldn't score. And I had great opportunities to score. And now I'm just so happy to see that other guys can't score either," Selanne beamed.
Robert Reichel
New York Islander, who scored 2 in a 4-0 win over Buffalo (17 Dec 1998)Reichel had a chance for the hat trick with a breakaway late in the second period but Hasek made a left pad save. Hasek and Reichel are teammates on the Czech Republic Olympic team. "The last few games we didn't get anything," Reichel said. "I was happy, Ziggy was happy and the team was happy. I had a few words with Hasek after the breakaway. I said I wanted another and he said two was enough."
Ken Dryden
Toronto Maple Leafs President and Hall of Fame goaltender"He's terrific, He is getting what he deserves [Lester B. Pearson Award]."
For Dryden, the unorthodox Hasek represents the essence of goaltending. "Your job is to stop pucks," he said. "It doesn't matter how you do it, you do it. And it doesn't matter what part of you does it, you do it.
"There are lots of people who play goal very stylistically and do everything technically right and who don't stop pucks. Dominik Hasek knows the job."
Owen Nolan
The only person who managed to score on Hašek at the 1997 All Star Game"There he is!" Nolan yelled as he joined Hasek on the dais for the post-game press conference. Nolan then laughed heartily and slapped the goalie on the back. Why did he gesture at Hasek on the breakaway? "I just said I had had enough," Nolan laughed. "I've got to put it somewhere. I had enough shots on him. He's an incredible goalie. He does the same things during the season. He's a hard worker who loves to play," Nolan said. "God, I didn't think I would ever get one by him."
Larry Wigge
The Sporting News"The Dominator? There has never been a more appropriate nickname."
Matthew Barnaby
Fellow Buffalo Sabre"There are only two ways we win games. We win because there are 20 guys working as hard as they can or we win because we let the other team get 70 shots and he stops them."
Not Everyone Loves Hašek...
[Return to Index]
Ed Belfour
Former Chicago Team mateEd Belfour has one distinct memory of goaltender Dominik Hasek from the two seasons they spent together with the Chicago Blackhawks: "He was my backup."
[Incidentally, Belfour denies saying almost exactly the same thing about Jeff Hackett in a heated discussion which was widely reported]
Trevor Kidd
Carolina Hurricanes Quoted in the Greensboro News & RecordCarolina has developed a reputation as a place where few shots are counted, and the goalies have certainly noticed. "Here, you face a flurry and feel like you stopped three shots, and you look up and only one goes up," said Kidd. "They'll miss two rebounds in tight.
"Go to Buffalo and the Dominator (Dominik Hasek) is there laying on the ice and doing his fish out of water and the guy (statistician) just has his hand on the clicker: 'That must have been five.'" Kidd doesn't argue that Hasek is one of the premier goalies in the league; he just notes the disparity in numbers make the save percentage an "awful stat with a lot of gray area."
[Perhaps this is a league-wide conspiracy to keep Dominik's save average looking so good: After 47 games this season, the average shots on goal per game recorded against the Sabres at the Marine Midland Arena was 31.41, and away from the MM Arena was 31.16...maybe that is just another very gray statistic?]
Hašek on Hašek...
[Return to Index]
“I was a little bit lucky a few times."
"My teammates played good defence."
"I don't know why I had such a big success against the Rangers, the team played well. We played well defensively," Hasek said. "I would say tonight was one of my easier shutouts. They had maybe five, six bigger chances but not too many breakaways. Usually I saw the puck. I want to praise the performance of my teammates in front of me."
"In the second period I made some lucky saves and the post helped me," Hasek said.
"When you score four goals, it's a lot easier to win," Hasek said. "I can't remember the last time we scored three or four goals. They had a lot of shots but they didn't have too many big chances. There was always someone to cover the rebounds and I could see every shot. Even though they outshot us, they didn't have many chances and the one goal they scored was very lucky, it could've been a shutout."
"The shutout is nice, but the win is what we came here for. The team made the day much easier by giving them few close chances."
"That second goal, I think I could have made a save on it. I should have."
"Normally, I would stop a shot like that," Hasek said. "It was a good shot but I think I should have stopped it. It came through the defenseman's legs and I reacted a little slow."
"It's my job to stop the puck," Hasek said. "I can make a save with my head if I have to. We just played. You never know what will happen. If you believe, anything can happen."
"My job is to stop the puck," said Hasek, who has allowed three goals or fewer in 39 of his 45 starts. "I don't think about how difficult it is."
Alphabetical List of People Quoted Here
Click on a name to see what they said, and use the "back" button on your browser to come back to this list.Barnaby, Matthew
Belfour, Eddie
Burns, Pat
Demers, Jacques
Dryden, Ken
Federov, Segei
Gretzky, Wayne
Jagr, Jaromir
Kapanen, Sami
Kidd, Trevor
Moog, Andy
Nolan, Owen
O'Neill, Jeff
Peca, Michael
Reichel, Robert
Rucinsky, Martin
Ruzicka, Vladimir
Ruff, Lindy
Selanne, Teemu
Thornton, Scott
Wigge, Larry
Wilson, Ron
Woolley, Jason
