Talkin’ ‘Bout Bob…With Bob

Bob had an interview with a Russian journalist, where he talked about his personal life and his hockey life. Let’s break down the important stuff.

"I saw how athletes and their relatives are treated; how a coach works with you at practices. Skating, techniques, physiological training; how to survive the marathon that the NHL regular season is, when there are games every other day and you are under pressure every time. And then a new season starts — the playoffs, and the pressure there is even greater, and you are not allowed to lose. An entire world opened up for me!"

Shit. One of the things he had going for him last year was that he was blissfully unaware of the chaos surrounding the importance of each game.  Now that he understands how much hockey means in Philly, he might start feeling the pressure.

"Ilya Bryzgalov told Sovetsky Sport that this is “wolf’s world. Especially for goaltenders. There are so many of them and there is only one place in goal.”I agree. Competition is very tough. No one wants to be number two…  Of course we won’t sharpen each other’s skates. But healthy working relationship is the engine for progress."

Good mentality there. Seems the coaches have given him reason to believe that playing time is completely based on performance and not politics.

"What I understood from last season is that if you play well, show the result, then you play for the first team. If not, you are benched. A contract is not playing, a person is."

Hell yes, that’s what I want to hear. I like Bob. He keeps things positive and believes he can win the starting job back and he’s going to keep trying to accomplish that.

"Did the fact that Olga could not obtain a U.S. visa have any effect? [Bob got married]It was one of the reasons. She was never approved for a U.S. visa. People at the U.S. embassy thought that we did not have any relationship. The entire season Olga flew around Canada and we met in cities where Philadelphia played. But the U.S. denied her entry. Now we will submit documents again. But right now Olga is my official wife. I don’t believe we will be denied again…"

How different things could have been if she were just allowed to come to Philly and help Bob relieve some stress during the last few months of the season.  Maybe we can blame Homeland Security for our collapse and lack of a Stanley Cup. Judging by the picture in the autograph, I think those guys just wanted to keep seeing her again, over and over.

"The fact that you deflated in the second half of last season — is it connected to the fact that you “had had too much hockey?”I think so. It turned out that by November I had been playing hockey for five months. And then the rollercoaster started: up and down. But I am not going to look for excuses for my shortcomings. This is my life and I set up the preparations myself. And I alone am responsible. I simply came to some conclusions and this summer I decided to make some changes."

We knew Lavy was wearing him out when he played him so many games in a row early in the season. Can’t blame the coach completely though, because he did rely on goalie coach Jeff Reese a lot. No starting goalie will ask for a break, you just gotta watch the guys. Seems like the coaching staff dropped the ball on this one.

"Is your dream to play the entire career in Philadelphia?Not a dream but a goal. This team has everything for hockey. I don’t want to go anywhere."

Looks like someone truly believes that they are the future backbone of this franchise. The problem for Bob is that Bryzy has a no movement clause. There has to be a whole lot of things that go in Bob’s favor for him to become the #1 goalie again. Bryzgalov has to suck for an extended period of time; Bob has to play extremely well on a consistent basis; Bryzgalov needs to get bought out or waive his trade clause; someone has to want to pay Bryzgalov after he crumbles. Dealing with the contract is the biggest issue. But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that and that Bryzgalov turns out to be worth every penny.

I feel bad for Bob though. I thought he was more than what this team needed in net. I think the entire goaltending situation was completely screwed up by the coaching staff, and that’s what lead to our playoff exit. If I were in charge, I would have kept Bob as the starter, resigned Boosh to back him up, and tinkered a little bit with some role players (Nodl, Carcillo, Shelley). I guess that’s just my pipe dream. And being part of the long-term future in Philadelphia is Bob’s pipe dream. Sorry comrade.

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