Tom McMillan Quotations

For 200 years we've been conquering nature. Now we're beating it to death.

No matter what other plans are out there, this is the best plan.

I dare say, he did more (publicity) in the preseason than any hockey player ever has,

There is going to be a wonder player coming along every 15 or 20 years. But what makes this story unique is that the Mario story is unique and he's still here for Sidney to play with. When Mario came to Pittsburgh, he didn't have a Mario to play with or to counsel him or advise him. He was on his own.

We were hiring people as it went along, ... We were in the process of ramping up our staff. Some new people got a real indoctrination. We had to tell them it's not always like this.

We were hiring people as it went along. We were in the process of ramping up our staff. Some new people got a real indoctrination. We had to tell them it's not always like this.

We're delighted, ... Clearly, it's a great keepsake item for their family.

We picked Sidney at 4:30 on July 22 and the phones started ringing immediately at 4:31,

There has been a backlash against Sidney and frankly, it's amazing to us. He's our leading scorer, he's great in the community and he's there for the media after tough losses. This is not the season we've hoped for, but he has done everything asked of him. Both Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky have said they never faced the kind of pressures he has to deal with at age 18. This can be a cynical sports town and if Sidney wasn't doing his share, believe me, you'd have heard the stories from here, first.

There has never been a three-week stretch of season ticket sales like this. Ever.

We've tuned it down to a mild roar. We've got to let him play hockey a little bit. That's the best marketing of all.

With the Internet and 24-hour talk radio and sports cable stations, Sidney Crosby has been known for years ... As big a story as Mario was, the Canadian media didn't come to training camp. It's just a different media world.

Think about it. It's a Friday in July in Pittsburgh and it's 4:30. You don't sell season tickets on Friday evenings in July. Our staff said they would stay until the phones stopped ringing. They stayed until midnight.

The similarity is the spontaneity of the unexpected great news, ... No one expected Mario's comeback announcement, and no one expected us to win the lottery.

The similarity is the spontaneity of the unexpected great news. No one expected Mario's comeback announcement, and no one expected us to win the lottery.

I've never seen anything quite like it, all the fuss over a guy they had never seen play. But the phone hasn't stopped ringing since.

Even if there is a substantial new investment in the team, Mario Lemieux will continue to be involved in all aspects of the operation.

We are aware of the responsibility to the league as well. This isn't just a Penguin thing.

People called us cash strapped which wasn't necessarily true, ... We just didn't spend money we didn't have.

As a policy, we're not going to comment and we're not going to confirm or deny any of these inquiries.

A lot of this became grabbing the bucking bronco and going, because you couldn't plan. What you want to do is, you don't want to get in the way of what's already happening.

The phones started ringing at 4:31 that day. The reaction was spontaneous combustion,

In a lot of ways, it's the Sidney-Mario story.

I hope we get to that point. Those are nice challenges to have, but we're not there yet. It's an unprecedented time and we're riding the wave.

I know he's had some training with the media, ... but I don't care what kind of training you've had, you either have his kind of poise or you don't.

Certainly, we want to get him over to meet Jason Bay.

The first time most people here will see Sidney Crosby on the ice will be at training camp, including us, other than our scouts. Obviously word of the legend got here, word of the accomplishment, word of the prize. There is a Sidney Crosby frenzy, no doubt. The scene when he arrived at the airport for the first time in August was unlike any that had ever greeted any Pittsburgh athlete, from a media standpoint. We've never seen anything like this.

You can train someone for 50 years, but still it comes down to whether you have 'it' or you don't, ... And whatever 'it' is, he has it. Whether it's charisma, charm, poise. Here's some 18-year-old kid who understands the big picture, and some of us are 50 and we are still trying to understand it.