koivu looks forward to wimp-free future in LA?

1.



former star player saku koivu tells jim rome how it is on the day he was named an alternate captain in anaheim before the season opener:

you had some options, why did you wind up with the ducks?

SK#11: "well, first of all in montreal i'd been there for a long time, at this part of my career i felt that i needed a new challenge, i wanted something else, something different... the long winter... a lot of snow, cold... and when anaheim came into the picture and they showed some interest we felt—my family—that this would be the perfect fit, for the family but for myself as a hockey player, you know, i want to win."

let's talk about the pressure and responsibility that comes along with wearing the "c" if you're a member of canadiens...

SK#11: "you gotta talk to the press quite often and and you're under the microscope pretty much 24/7.... you kind of—.... i got used to it. but at this point i'm going to wear an "a" but not a "c," and it feels good, i can more focus on my own stuff and lead by example and help my teammates but ugh you know you don't have to explain everything—what's going on in the practice, or if something happened wrong in the game."

you had been "the" guy for so long, the guy that everybody looks at—are you looking forward to being one of "them", one of those guys that can blend in?

SK#11: "absolutely. you know that was the one thing i kinda wanted to get into a market that you can breeze easily and enjoy life a bit more but at the same time i wanted to get into a place where i can win and be successful and like i said that's the reason why i came to anaheim."

it seems to me like there's so much less pressure: you're not wearing the "c," you're not in the fishbowl... but as we start a new year, and you're on a new team with a new artillery—are you nervous at all?

SK#11: "absolutely. i haven't felt excited, i haven't felt deserved in a long long time—but that was a good thing. but ugh ugh yeah ... like i said i wanted to find that spark again that i was kind of missing the last couple years, i have to go out there, i have to prove—to myself but also to my mates and coaching staff—that i deserve that icetime and this part of the team ."