Keith Tkachuk Quotations

We're not going to quit. We're going to keep going after everybody.

We've got a young team, and we have to be a tough team to play against on the road. I think the longer we hang around in games, the better we play, and I think that's shown.

Obviously, John's a big guy, and it's a great opportunity for him. I don't know much about his tendencies because we don't play Tampa Bay very often. But I do know he's an American, and that means he's a competitor.

Right now, I'm struggling on my penalty shot. I've got to help the team in that area.

Rick's a great guy. He's a solid man, and I hope the best for him. That's all I can give you.

Points don't matter to me. Giving my team a chance to win, that's all that matters to me.

I don't know what's going to happen here. I'm not the general manager . . . I'm not the owner. I'm just a player that has to do his job to help his team win and whatever happens, happens. We as players can only control one thing: how we perform on the ice. We need more guys worried about that than worried about other things right now. That's probably (why the Blues are in) the situation we're in right now, because people worry about that.

He treats everybody like men, and gets the most out of his players.

We've gone into tough buildings and won, or at least gone to overtime. It's a credit to our system and the way we play. That's what you want to establish as a road team. We can't get rattled.

He's a competitor, I'll tell you that much. He wants to win; he's been with the Rangers and he demands a lot.

He was good, but we had chances ... not in the first (period), but in the second in the third. But with this lineup, we've got to play extremely hard every single shift.

There are so many great teams here that if you take a period off or a half a period off, you're going to lose the game.

I think what happened in the third period against Latvia carried over. We just skated to the puck and controlled the game. We pinned them in their own zone; we were buzzing pretty good out there.

I think the young guys expect us to go out and lead by example. I think tonight was a great example of that.

I wasn't as prepared as I should have been. But I'm telling you right now, if you watched me skate today I'm definitely prepared now.

We have to. I think teams took us for granted and we jumped on teams early. We just have to keep doing the same no matter who's in the lineup.

We're up 2-0 and they play almost the entire second period in our end.

We've done it before with guys hurt and guys traded. For while there we were consistent and now it seems we're getting away from that. We've got to stop it right now because that was an embarrassing result tonight.

You know what, the first period killed us; we weren't ready for it. But you've got to give those guys credit. They come at you extremely hard, and they give you nothing. We weren't ready to do that.

We'll have a game plan and I'm sure they have a game plan. If it's a one-year deal where they pick up the option, there's other options besides that.

We knew that this goalie kicks out rebounds, so we wanted to shoot from all angles and drive to the net, and it worked on the first goal. You can't let a team skate like that.

We all knew that he could score, but I think he's playing with a little bite to his game now. I think that works for a young guy his size . . . because you get respect from guys you play with and you play against. He gets his nose dirty.

We had a good talk ... they want to win. I'm just glad I know that I'm going to be in St. Louis next year. Whatever happens after that, happens. But I hope we're in the playoffs. That's my No. 1 concern.

We had a game plan. We just couldn't execute.

When you lose two guys like that, those are two great friends of mine and you're not happy about it. But you understand that's the business we're in and it gives a lot of these kids an opportunity to go out and show that they belong in the NHL.

We expected to go over there and compete for the gold medal, and that wasn't the case. Sure it's a disappointment. It would be nice for the NHL to realize that you can't just go over there a day before and try to cram in all those games like that.

Things are going pretty good for us right now. I don't know what it is. I mean, it's probably a little bit too late, but . . . I don't know what it is. We're going out, working hard and having fun. It just seems like we get the lead and we get better as the game goes a long. It's weird. We've got a lot of youth and I think a lot of guys are being put in a situation that they're not used to, and they're rising to the occasion.

These are young kids. This is the foundation. You need great goaltending, and that's what we've had over the years with Mike Richter.

These are young kids. This is the foundation, ... You need great goaltending, and that's what we've had over the years with Mike Richter.

The old guys can still play a little bit. ... We've been around, we've won the World Cup in '96, and we demand a lot from each other. I think the young guys expect us to go out and lead by example. I think tonight was a good example of that.

Anybody would want to know what their future is ... we'll just see what happens. I'm anxious to sit down ... depending on which direction they want to go in. If it's move forward with me being a part of it, then I'm excited to go there and sit down and talk about the future.

You're not going to replace Al. We're going to miss him. It's going to be a huge challenge for the rest of the way.

The young guys have done a great job. They're having a lot of fun out there and it's really neat to see as an older player or as a fan.

This is unbelievable. You don't want to use excuses, but it's a big part of it. We're missing some NHL-caliber players.

It's a big decision for them, so I respect it. At least tomorrow I'll know where I stand in St. Louis.

It's a great cause. It's a little different . . . I'm not used to the color . . . but it's a great cause.

It's not where I want it to be right now. It's not right.

It's the best players in the world playing. The hockey's going to be out of this world. It's great. It's high tempo with elite players. I'm looking forward to the challenge, because you have to be on your 'A' game.

It means everything to me. ... I can't wait. I want to win a gold medal, bottom line. It's my last one, so I'm looking forward to it.

It's frustrating but we've put ourselves in this mess. We know the situation we're in. We're not going to lay over. We've got to keep going. We've got to find a way out of this hole.

It's unbelievable; it's frustrating. You don't want to use excuses, but (the injuries) are a big part of it. But nobody's quitting. We're just in a tough streak right now and we have to find our way out of it.

It's up to the Blues. We don't have much to work with ... seven days. But whatever happens, happens.

That really paved the way for a lot of us Americans to be in the NHL and get an opportunity to play for our country.

It's been tough, it seems like every day something else happens. You try to help out as much as possible when you're in the lineup and hopefully be able to stay in the lineup for a long time.

It's difficult when you lose your leading goal-scorer this early in the year. It's just frustrating.

Oh, thank God, ... Now it's back to business.

No I'm not worried because I know what I did. It wasn't as bad as everyone thinks. I hit him in the shoulder and no matter where I touched him he was going to dive. It was not a blow to the head so that's the bottom line. He didn't miss a shift either, did you notice that? The guy embellished it.

I want to be a part of this organization. I like what I see. These kids have given a guy like me an extra jump just with their enthusiasm. It brings me back to the Winnipeg days, being a young guy playing.

I had no idea. We just want to win because we love to win.

If people are writing us off, great. That doesn't bother me and it doesn't bother the guys on the team. We want to get into that medal round, and anything can happen. If you get hot at the right time, it doesn't matter.

I just wanted to give him support. I told him that he's a tremendous person and don't forget that. I just wished him all the best and said that we're thinking of him. The whole NHL, not only myself, but my team and everybody else is thinking about him. I feel for him and wish him all the best for the future.

He's probably the best American ever to play wearing a (U.S.) jersey.

Hopefully next week I'll be ready to go. I want to play as soon as I can. It's getting better, but it's still a little ways off. I want to definitely get some games in with the Olympics coming up.

I feel I have a lot of hockey left.

I don't want to say how old I was when I started watching Bourque, because it might offend him.

I don't look forward to meetings, but at least tomorrow will determine my future. I haven't even talked once with my agent about it. Any time you have a meeting like that I don't get too optimistic, so we'll see what happens. I'd like to come back.

You can't replace guys like that. We put ourselves in this situation where they're going to get rid of a lot of the old guys who don't have contracts next year and try to rebuild.

This home stand was the most embarrassing in my career. I don't like what I see. We've got to be a lot better. Better players have to rise to the occasion.