NEW YORK -- The annual NHL-NHLPA media tour kicked off at the league's head office on Wednesday. Here are a few highlights:
"Got hounded about that. I've watched it. It was great. It was hilarious. You have to -- it was funny. ... My parents never wanted me to watch it when I was a kid-kid. [My junior team] would always play it on the bus, but I would never pay attention to it. I'd just play cards or something." -- Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, on not having watched "Slap Shot" until earlier this year.
"Seems like if you can't skate, you can't play." -- Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask on today's style of play.
"My friends, that group of guys. Great hockey organization. The fans were great to me." -- Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, on what he'll miss most about the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"I don't want them to play hockey. They can play tennis. Maybe I don't want the girls to go through the same thing I did. Or maybe I'm selfish." -- Rask, on whether he'd let his daughters play hockey.
"I loved him. The thing that surprised me the most was how much fun he has. I didn't really grasp how big he was and how much pressure he has on him. He always comes to the rink with the smile on his face. That's something I really admired about him." -- New York Rangers defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, on former Washington Capitals teammate Alex Ovechkin.
"We kind of want to prove ourselves again. It won't be very hard to get motivation; it doesn't seem like anyone is satisfied with the way it's ended the last two years." -- Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane, on the team's early playoff exits the past two seasons.
"Our travel was so easy last year, it was a joke. February, all but two nights I slept in my own bed. And that includes road games. It was crazy." -- New Jersey Devils center Taylor Hall, on his first season in the Eastern Conference.
"We were out of it with 50 games to go. I lost focus, I did. Never had that before. It was a lost year; we had a good team." -- Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin, on his team's poor showing last season.
"I would rather that than people not talking about us. I'm usually pretty excited every year, but it's hard to not to be ... with the players we've brought in. The kind of season we had last year, hockey was the last thing I wanted to talk about. ... I'm looking forward to getting this thing going." -- Stars captain Jamie Benn, on high expectations for his team this season.
"I think [Jagr] should play in Vegas. Why not get a hockey legend with a new team and try to sell some jerseys at least, put some people in the stands? He's got his little entourage, people who follow him around from past teams. He can still play. He had a pretty good year last year. Just because he's 70 doesn't mean he needs to hang up the skates." -- Benn, on former teammate Jaromir Jagr not having a contract.
"We have some young guys coming up with new energy. Expectations are different outside the room, but they are the same inside." -- Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, on expectations for his team coming off another early playoff departure.
"I like coaches to see black and white. If they're hard on me, that's fine. I like my coaches to have a personality and talk about things other than hockey. I've had hard coaches, I've had easy coaches, it doesn't matter to me however they are, I just want to get to know them more than [talking about the] neutral-zone forecheck." -- Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel.
"Started doing pilates and I really like it." -- Eichel, on a new element of his revamped offseason regimen.