It Was Nice Knowing Ya

Former Penguins forward Petr Sykora, I believe we can say that now after seeing this doozy of a piece in a Czech newspaper . The finer points of the article as seen on letsgopens.com were:

Q:Could you continue in Pittsburgh?

A:No. My agent talked to the management, and I won¢â‚¬â„¢t be back. When the coach does not want Sykora, nothing can be done.

Q:Could you say what happened between you and coach Bylsma that got you to be scratched?

A:It¢â‚¬â„¢s never a good thing when you are coached by a former teammate. On top of that, he used to be a player who drifted around as a fourth-liner. I was younger than him, played on the top line, scored goals, was the little star. Now the roles got reversed, and from the first moment I had a feeling that he let me ¢â‚¬Ëœeat it.¢â‚¬â„¢ I honestly say that I have not had liked him even as a teammate. Which does not happen to me often¢â‚¬¦

Q:Do you regret that there is no way back?

A:Incredibly. I think I had two excellent years there, scored 59 goals, and persuaded the previous coach Therrien about my qualities. But this is business, nobody cares about feelings. I¢â‚¬â„¢m pissed off; but on the other hand, it gives me more fuel to prove they had made a mistake.

Q:How much longer do you want to play in the NHL?

A:I don¢â‚¬â„¢t want to cling to a roster spot at any cost, to sit on a bench as a fourth-liner. But I do have two, three years in me to score 25-30 goals per season. Though I won¢â‚¬â„¢t be hanging around the NHL until forty, that¢â‚¬â„¢s for sure.