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Wednesday, November 8, 2000
Hungry Hasek ready to go ... play
Associated Press
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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- This is not the same worn-down Dominik
Hasek who was ready to pack it in a year ago. Look at how much fun
he's having.
During a break in practice, Sabres defenseman Jay McKee begins
flipping pucks at the Buffalo net. Rather than catching the
fluttering shots, Hasek manages to bounce them off his helmeted
head to the point where black paint starts chipping off the top of
his cage.
|  | | Hasek is focused on hockey once again. |
"We started that a few years ago," McKee said laughing, adding
that the routine hasn't knocked any sense into Hasek yet.
Hasek, sitting nearby, doesn't hear, consumed by another of his
meticulous passions -- comparing the ingredients of several sports
drinks.
Yes, Hasek has his quirks. He can be flakey and temperamental.
But that belies his drive and competitive nature, key reasons he's
back between the pipes, refocused and rejuvenated, a year after he
announced his retirement.
"I feel hungry again," he said. "I feel completely different
from a year ago."
It helps that his injured groin has fully healed after he missed
40 games last season. And while he didn't think of it last April,
when the Sabres were knocked out of the first round of the playoffs
by Philadelphia, the long summer off has given him added rest and
perspective.
It had been a long haul.
Before the start of last season, Hasek had appeared in 176 games
over a 22-month span, including playoffs and the Nagano Olympics,
where he helped the Czech Republic win a gold medal.
Mentally and physically drained, Hasek announced last September
that the 1999-2000 season would be his last. Four months later,
while sitting out bored and frustrated recovering from his injury,
Hasek had a sudden change of heart.
"I never experienced it before," Hasek said of his unscheduled
midseason break. "And all of a sudden, I thought more, and I felt
I cannot retire like this. That's why I want to play again. ...
"I feel like there's something still in me, and I can still do
something for the Sabres."
Today, the 35-year-old Hasek won't discuss retirement. "After I
play the last game with the Buffalo Sabres, I'll let you know," he
said.
Asked what it would take for him to retire, Hasek replied: "If
I feel I cannot play better, if I cannot give anything else to this
team, then it's going to be over."
Hasek's return is a blessing for the Sabres, who believe that
with a healthy "Dominator" in net anything is possible.
"Goaltending is paramount to anything else," coach Lindy Ruff
said. "You can run into injuries, your offense can go south for a
while, and you know you can still win games 1-0."
Entering his 11th NHL season, Hasek remains one of the game's
top -- if not the most exciting -- goalies. He is a two-time MVP,
five-time Vezina Trophy winner as the best goalie, and has led the
NHL in save percentage for seven straight seasons.
Hasek even has a patented save, the one where he slides in one
direction but manages to flop himself backward and reach blindly
behind him with his glove to stop shots.
As New Jersey Devil and fellow Czech native Patrik Elias put it:
"He never gives up on any play. You think that you've beaten him
and all of a sudden he throws a glove in the spot that you're
shooting at."
Elias, who played in exhibition games with Hasek in their
homeland last summer, saw the goalie's competitive side up close.
"He learned from that that you don't say it's over until you
feel it's over," Elias said. "He said that he missed a lot of
games and still had the drive for hockey and wanted to play more
games.
"He said that he doesn't quit in a situation that he was in."
The only thing missing on Hasek's resume is a Stanley Cup,
another key element that brought him back.
"You think about it almost every day," he said.
The Sabres, with the additions of Doug Gilmour, Chris Gratton
and Dave Andreychuk, appear to have the depth and experience they
lacked in 1999 when they lost the finals in six games to Dallas.
Hasek likes the team's makeup.
"There is a different attitude because last season was
disappointing for everyone in this locker room," he said. "Everyone wants to be better."
Himself included.
There is a Czech saying which, roughly translated, means:
"Something bad is good for something."
Hasek believes there is truth in those words, especially after
last year.
"I believe always that things sometimes don't go the smooth
way, that you are not always on the top," he said. "But you think
about it, why it happened, what you could do better to improve.
That's the way I've always done it in my life, and I believe it's
right."
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