Again, apologies for being late with this weekly sheet. We collect the quotes all week long, but it takes a bit of time to format them into a coherent post, and I usually do that part at the last minute.

Yesterday, I ran out of minutes.;-)

“Only at a hockey game can you get up and let the dogs out without looking like a jackass.”

Well, that’s highly debatable, but Hurricanes’ media director Pete Soto (link via kukla’s) attempts to explain the arena’s playlist. (“Like a hurricane….!”)

[10 More Quotes After the Jump.]

“Hockey at least is fast, played with knives on your feet, billy clubs in your hands and can send a 3-inch rubber disc at laser speed toward a goalie’s dental work.”

Rick Methot, a writer who is not-really-a-hockey-fan-but-trying, sees the positive side of NHL action.

“We’re pretty fortunate to have bumped into this guy, and we’d really like to keep him.”

Montreal GM Bob Gainey is eager to keep the goalie he “bumped into”… Cristobal Huet. Huet hits the open market on July 1st.

“To consider myself old at 28 would be a tough pill to swallow.”

Sabres’ Jay McKee has options this summer when he inks a new contract as an unrestricted free agent. He’s played his entire career in Buffalo, but is apparently considering Toronto. Fortunately over-the-hill is embraced at the Center of the Universe (or so we hear).

[Ed.Note: Incidentally, if you ever hear “28 is over the hill” coming out of someone’s mouth, beat on them. Thanks.]

“I don’t think he even realizes (what he’s doing), so don’t tell him.”

Anaheim Mighty Ducks’ Teemu Selanne (via) commenting on the early performances of Ilya Bryzgalov last Sunday.

“One thing you don’t give talent is a sniff. You don’t give them room and you don’t give them brooms.”

CBC announcer Ron MacLean is a Canadian optimist, commenting on the Senators’ win after their game against Buffalo Thursday night. (Quote personally transcribed, no online source available.)

“If overtime is good and double overtime is great, triple overtime must be out of this world. You can’t have too much of a good thing, right? Just one thing: Can the next triple overtime game happen in the Eastern time zone?”

Salon sportswriter King Kaufman had a good time watching the San Jose - Edmonton game Wednesday night, despite the fact his team lost the game.

“At the end of the day, [Ville Nieminen] had 15 hits, one near-death experience and a close spear.”

Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish (link via Mirtle) goes on to dismiss Nieminen as “a minor pest” after game one of the Oilers/Sharks series. Says Nieminen of his own scoring skill: “I’m all Swedish, no finish. You saw last night [a botched attempt to score into an empty Edmonton net]. Next time I’m going to leave my stick in the dressing room and use a fork and knife.”

“I played until I was 40 and I loved every minute of it. The hockey world is a fantastic family. It’s been a great part of my life and I love it.”

Swede Kent Nilsson was inducted, with others on Thursday, into the IIHF Hall of Fame. Nilsson finished his NHL career in Edmonton during the 1994-95 season, having gotten 686 points in 553 games.

“What we would get with the [Pittsburgh] Penguins would be an affordable franchise and a portable one. We think this could be a great investment.”

Torontonian - and prospective bidder on the Penguins - Sam Fingold discusses the possibility of buying the team and moving it to Kansas City for 2007. (See? Portable.)

“There’s enough skill in this dressing room to get some goals. It’s just a matter of time.”

Said Avalanche forward Alex Tanguay on May 8th. The Avs lost 4 straight games, and Tanguay himself finished that series with a minus-2 and 2 assists. As MasterCard would say: Priceless.

tags: nhl, hockey, playoffs, stanley+cup, quotes, tanguay, nilsson, nieminen, mactavish, maclean, mckee, huet