John Madden Conference Call

[Derek21]

This is for any NJ fans who might be interested in what Madden had to say yesterday afternoon during a media conference call courtesy of nhlmedia.com.

Just want to add what a classy guy Madden is for how he answered each question. He didn't have to answer them as blatantly honest as he did but that's not his nature. He even suggested taking out the red line to improve the game offensively. What a great guy.

Date of Release: 05/06/2003 Season: 2002/2003

Type of Release: Public Relations

Category: Conference Call Transcript

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Conference Call Transcript -- John Madden

Contact Information: N/A

May 6, 2003

NHL MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL

NEW JERSEY DEVILS CENTER JOHN MADDEN

DAVID KEON: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm David Keon with the National Hockey League's public relations department. I'd like to welcome you to today's call. Our guest is New Jersey Devils center John Madden. Thanks to John for taking the time today to answer your questions, and thanks to Mike Levine and Jeff Altstadter of the Devils public relations staff for arranging the call.

In his fourth full NHL season, John is preparing for the Conference Finals for the third time as New Jersey will meet the Ottawa Senators after eliminating the Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games apiece in the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Through the Devils 10 playoff games, John is tied with Jamie Langenbrunner for the team lead in points with 11 on 4 goals and 7 assists, and has a plus-minus rating of plus 6.

Signed as a free agent by the Devils in 1997, John won the Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward in 2001 and last Wednesday was named as a finalist for the Selke Trophy for this season, when he posted a career-high 41 points on 19 goals and 22 assists.

Again, we thank him for taking the time to join us today and answer your questions. We'll open it up now for questions.

Q. Your take on this match-up so far, as far as the momentum that Ottawa has, what you think they pose in the way of a challenge? Obviously a team that's gotten deeper as the last few playoff years have gone by. They seem pretty hungry.

JOHN MADDEN: Yes, they do. First of all hats off to them for beating Philadelphia, I think maybe one of the best teams in our division and one of the most physical teams.

You mentioned that their depth has increased. I think that's going to be our biggest concern. The previous two series we faced a Boston Bruins team that I felt their first two lines were good, but I thought they didn't have much punch in the third or fourth, as well as Tampa Bay.

I think as far as Ottawa is concerned, they're unbelievable all the way from first line to fourth line and their defensive corps is just as good as anybody else's.

Q. When you look at New Jersey, going back to when they won their first Cup, very defensive oriented team, seemed to open up a little bit. You guys are back, known more for your defense. Is that a way to look at it? Obviously you guys are winning with defense first. Is that how you guys have had to approach it?

JOHN MADDEN: Yeah, I think the reason why we approach it this way is we feel, you know, for example, compare us to Ottawa. We don't feel we're as skilled. We don't feel we have the ability to open it up and score as many goals as they do. We start in goal with Marty Brodeur, he's our cornerstone of the franchise, start with him and work our way out, we feel we have our best chance to win games.

Q. What has Pat Burns meant to you guys? Is he coming in there, sort of reasserting that defensive responsibility first?

JOHN MADDEN: Yeah, that's a great assessment of it. I thought last year and the previous year we were kind of getting away from it, like you said, opening it up a little bit more. We didn't have the depth to score as many goals as we would like. Then we got rid of Alexander Mogilny, which has hurt our scoring.

Pat Burns has reestablished the fact that you had better be responsible and accountable for your defensive actions and just making smart decisions all over the ice.

Q. You mentioned Marty a moment ago. He's up for the Vezina and Hart Trophies. I'm always curious about players' interpretations of especially the Hart Trophy when it comes to MVP, and it's supposed to be defined as most valuable player to your team. You're an extremely deep hockey team, but it's clear from what you said a moment ago about being built around the stability of Marty Brodeur. Is he a team MVP and a League MVP in your mind? Is he the kind of guy that has been the steadying influence that a team is supposed to be built around for a playoff run? He's got that valuable experience and so much poise back there.

JOHN MADDEN: Yes, he does have the poise. You know, in our team awards this year we voted him MVP for the fourth straight year I've been here anyway. He's definitely deserving of a vote for the Hart Trophy. But, you know, (Peter) Forsberg might tip him off for that one because I think he's been really vital to his team's success in Colorado.

You talked about Marty being poised back there. He has a cool, calm, collected way. If he has a bad game, it doesn't go into the next game and next game. He just gets rid of it. He has a little amnesia and comes out and plays the next game very well.

Q. Seems to be an important thing for him, to handle the puck as much as he does, to be that confident sort of guy out there. Can you talk a little bit about how well he's dealt with the story through the media of the last few days? It seems to be away from the game, but something that's obviously personal and unfortunate. I imagine it's one of those rally-around-your-cornerstone, building-block sort of player, hunker down through the story of some off-ice issues with him. Knowing him myself, you can say he's obviously not too rattled by it in the way he shows up to work every day.

JOHN MADDEN: Yeah, I'm sure it bugs him. If it doesn't, he sure hides it well. Away from the game, I'm sure he has his moments where it's him by himself. Must be a lonely place for him. But we don't want him to feel that way. People make mistakes in life. It just so happens that he happens to be Marty Brodeur. His business comes out in the newspapers. We feel not, well, bad for him, but at the same time we want to win for him. You know, he's playing really well. I'm surprised as well as he's doing because that's a lot to have on his shoulders right now.

Q. Ottawa won three of the four regular season meetings with your team. I wondered if you could pinpoint what it is that's the most difficult aspect of playing against that team?

JOHN MADDEN: Well, I think people always talk about Ottawa's team speed. They leave out two important things. Their commitment to playing the system. They play a system just as well as anybody does in the NHL. I think their puck handling, movement of the puck, making smart decisions is very overlooked because of their ability to score goals, their flashy players.

I think the other thing is when they talk about team speed with Ottawa, their team speed comes from turning the puck over. It always seems like they create off-man rushes with their pressure down ice. Everybody knows when you turn a puck over in the National Hockey League, that means a lot of people are out of position. They do that very well, so it makes you feel like you're playing a faster game than you really are.

I think the way we can go against that is not turn the puck over, almost play a stupid, simple hockey game that I know Canadian Press will say is very boring when we start playing it, but that's the way we have to play if we're going to win.

Q. The west is looking more this year like the east did last year, the eastern teams that are alive now, you must think this is your year, big chance this year, take advantage of it.

JOHN MADDEN: Well, I think anybody, either Ottawa or us, if you look at the two teams, I'm sure a lot of people are thinking the winner of the Stanley Cup may come out of this division because of what teams are left.

But I tell you, the teams that are left over there, we played against them, we had a hard time against them. Anaheim I think we beat by one goal and Vancouver beat us in overtime here. There's a lot of good times out there. We struggled against Minnesota.

We're not thinking ahead too far. We're thinking, let's get by Ottawa and we'll press our luck in the Finals.

Q. You mentioned the stupid, simple hockey. There has been quite a bit of criticism up here of the style of hockey that's come to dominate in the playoffs. How do you feel about the criticism, that the entertainment value has been taken out of the game because of teams like yourself, the Wild in the Western Conference playing a defensive oriented game?

JOHN MADDEN: Well, you know, for us, for example, we don't draw very big crowds. The way we play, we really hurt our crowds because they want to come and see a lively hockey game. But for Minnesota, for example, it hasn't hurt their crowds at all.

But there's been a lot of criticism. But if you look over the years in the past, I think the team that has played the best defensive game has won the Cup over the years. Even though they've had some good players, they've had to come down to goaltending and how well they play defensively.

You can't deny that good defensive hockey clubs win Cups, and that's what you want to do.

Q. Do you think the League should try to do something to try to make it less...

JOHN MADDEN: Personally I think they should take out the red line. That's my view. I feel taking out the red line will stop the trap, you know, there will be a lot more two-on-ones or breakaways. I think the scoring will just rise because of that.

Q. You're a guy with a lot of speed, even though you're often recognized for your defensive capabilities. Would you like to see the game, even with the red line, try to open up more and be a little more fan friendly?

JOHN MADDEN: Well, right now I'm excelling because the way the Devils play. It suits my style. I believe that I can make the switch and play the other way. But, you know, I really feel that this is a game that is played like this.

I mean, I don't know, you can find different systems to play against it. But I just think the system that the Devils are playing is a system that a lot of people can be successful in and you can win a lot of championships this way.

Q. It's funny that a Selke winner and finalist and the defensive specialist would talk about opening things up, removing the red line. That dates back to your days at Michigan where offense was a huge part of what you brought to the program. Getting back to what you said about fan support, relative lack of it in Jersey. The people who are there, I know this from traveling, seeing what one building is like, you get 10,000 passionate hockey fans in that building, it's a loud place. Do players spend any time concerned about the drop-off, the fact you're sort of in the shadows of New York City as a market, a building that doesn't draw people? You talked about your defensive style. Can you afford to or does it tap into the emotions of who you're playing in front of?

JOHN MADDEN: I think it plays a big deal into the way we play hockey. The way we play hockey, it hurts our crowd, there's no doubt about it. Fans come, they want to see a nice open-up game, lots of scoring, lots of hitting. But we don't play that way very often.

Going back to the fan base thing, I think the biggest thing, you get 10,000 people, they're great fans that come to the game, but the building is so big, it just seems like there's nobody there. Even when you get 13,000 or 14,000, it still seems like there's no one there. The place holds like 18,000 or 19,000. It gets a little crazy in that way. Even when the fans do show up, it just seems like no one's there.

The other thing, I really think that Jersey is not a hockey market, no matter how you slice it. I believe most of the people that are here are Ranger fans anyways. It makes it difficult to draw a crowd.

Q. What about the influence and the impact of two or three other college players, all Canadian in the sense of Todd White, Martin St. Louis, all under six feet, known for being responsible players, but you brought some great offensive thrust to your game in the playoffs this year. Is that kind of a nice notch in your belt to be lumped in with other Hobey Baker finalists, guys who can make an impact in spite of the less traditional route to the NHL?

JOHN MADDEN: Yeah, I think it's great. I think a lot of people deserve credit. Marty St. Louis deserves a lot of credit coming in the way he did. He's not a very big guy, but he can sure go.

Q. You're going to go head-to-head or at least on the same ice surface with Todd White. There is a guy who hides in the weeds, can score goals for an already deep team. Must be an interesting challenge. He's not going to scare you with his size, but his quick release is a weapon Ottawa can boast?

JOHN MADDEN: Went head-to-head a few times. He's good on faceoffs, he's good defensively. Like you said, he doesn't blast all the time on offense, but when he does, he seems to score at the right times.

Q. I'm sure you don't want to put something up on the Ottawa wall at this point, but is there such thing this late into their run of Patrick Lalime's lack of Eastern Conference Final experience being a major difference between him and Marty Brodeur, and for that reason between you guys and Ottawa?

JOHN MADDEN: I don't think so. Patrick Lalime is going to be himself no matter what happens and what you say. I think it's because of the way they play in front of him. Inexperience isn't going to be a problem. I'm not saying that so there's nothing going on the wall. I'm saying the truth.

They don't give much up. You have to work for everything you get. That's what makes them so successful. He's been there for them, he's made the saves he's had to make. He's played well so far.

Longshot, maybe there might be a chance we might be able to get to him and get some goals behind him. Obviously that's going to be our goal. But to get there is another story.

DAVID KEON: Thank you, John, for your time today.

JOHN MADDEN: Thank you.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports...

[sheeps]

He never stops with the Rangers fans. Let's take Madden to Central Jersey and play "Count the Rangers fans."

Then let's move the arena to Newark where Central Jerseyans will have train access to the arena.

[sundstrom]

good stuff derek-

thanks

[Devils101]

Madden shouldn't be commenting on Marty's personal happenings in his press conference.

[MaddDog]

As big a Mad Dog fan as I am, I also don't love some of the 'Ranger$ fan' stuff or the Marty comments.

I don't think he's entirely right about the Ranger fan stuff, or drawing less than a sell out because of the so-called "boring" hockey. I think the high ticket prices and the location of the arena AND the bad economy don't exactly help matters.

[eldon]

Madden shouldn't be commenting on Marty's personal happenings in his press conference.

That was my favorite line of the whole interview.

"We feel not, well, bad for him, but at the same time we want to win for him."

[westcoastdevfan]

"Then we got rid of Alexander Mogilny, which has hurt our scoring."

I question his choice of words in some of his comments like the one above.

[LizDevil30]

Madden was out of line with some of his comments. I am disappointed in him. Speaking the truth about the game is one thing, comments about Marty and the Devils fanbase is quite another.

[devilsadvocate]

I love him as a player, but this isn't the first time some of his comments have irked me.

[aylbert]

Take it with a grain of salt....

[Zamode]

Probably right aylbert but if he becomes captain someday, he may have to learn to choose his words a little more wisely. Not that he said anything vile but it wasn't the best choice.

[NJDevs4978]

I have to admit I got a chuckle out of his little slip about Marty 'we don't feel bad for him but we want to win for him', wasn't the best thing to say publicly but somehow I doubt this is going to become big news in any case.

And while the Ranger$ fans comment is true to a degree (let's face it the Ranger$ were here first and fans are not going to switch loyalties overnight no matter how bad the team is ) it's also not the 'only' reason the Devils don't sell out either. Neither is the 'boring' hockey though I'm sure the Devs would get another few hundred or so casual fans if they played pond hockey; that's just the way it is. Then again Boston wasn't exactly doing great attendance-wise either and they play pond hockey and they're not in a saturated market so maybe that's not true

[Derek21]

I think Madden's a lot like me. He isn't always going to tell you what you want to hear. He's brutally honest sometimes on things and that's what I got from this interview.

I think Madden's Sports Management background out of the University of Michigan shows too. Another similarity. He understands the game.

[rbdf]

he needs a geography lesson though - he may understand the game, he may understand some managment due to his college major, but he needs to take a marketing class, and he needs to travel outside of the southorange practice ice area and east rutherford arena area, look at a map and learn a bit about the rest of the state before you comment on why people aren't in the seats. ranger fans? my smattering of monmouth county friends consist of about 4 ranger fans, 2 real philly fans, 2 other philly fans who secondarily root for the devils and a whole lot of devils fans who hate the rangers and mock the flyers (oh, and one leafs fan, but we don't talk about him and his condition)

[LizDevil30]

Brutally honest? Misinformed. And running you mouth when you are misinformed is a bad combination.

[MaddDog]

I think the problem with Madden's comments is that where he lives there very well may be ALOT of Ranger$$$ fans, but the WHOLE state of NJ is NOT Ranjah or Cryer fans. He really should acknowledge that central NJ is most likely populated with a larger % of Dev fans (I know that Southern Jersey is unfortunately the fanbase of Philthy for the most part).

[Zamode]

I don't think some players should be commenting on teammates' personal situations..............there are no angels in our own team.

[Derek21]

I think the problem with Madden's comments is that where he lives there very well may be ALOT of Ranger$$$ fans, but the WHOLE state of NJ is NOT Ranjah or Cryer fans. He really should acknowledge that central NJ is most likely populated with a larger % of Dev fans (I know that Southern Jersey is unfortunately the fanbase of Philthy for the most part).

That's true. I think Madden's biggest frustration is that he notices the lack of support with the home crowd. He's a very sensitive person. Even in 2000-01, it was noticeable during the season but they did draw better and soldout every playoff game.