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Friday, December 3, 1999
Retiring no option to Coffey
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Paul Coffey has endured nagging elbow and knee injuries and a serious back problem during the past two years.
The Brampton native could have packed it in and waited for his sure-bet induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. But retirement never entered Coffey's mind.
"I'm a firm believer that once you start thinking about retirement you already are retired," Coffey, 38, said as his Carolina Hurricanes prepared to take on the Maple Leafs last night.
"You can tell me all you want about Dominik Hasek (the Buffalo Sabres goalie, who has announced he will retire after this season), but as soon as he says he has one more year, he is done already. You can't let that thought process creep into your mind if you are going to be good at anything you do. You might as well pack it in right there.
"Look at Wayne (Gretzky). He never talked about retirement. Boom. It was done."
Coffey was thought to be done. But his recent play has given his teammates a glimpse of his glorious past.
While held off the scoresheet last night, Coffey has seven points in his past six games, giving him a total of eight.
"He is skating very well," Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said. "He has a lot of confidence jumping into the play right now. He is not just picking up points, he is picking up big points."
The highlights include a game-tying goal in Washington on Nov. 19.
On Tuesday in a 4-3 win against the Calgary Flames, he set up the tying and winning goals.
Those two assists pushed Coffey to 1,495 career points, past former teammate Mario Lemieux and into eighth on the NHL career list.
It didn't appear Coffey would register the points needed to pass Lemieux. Coffey was a healthy scratch in the first four games.
Maurice told Coffey before the season that the kids would get a chance first, especially if Coffey's playing level was below or equal to the younger defencemen. Maurice also decided that Coffey wouldn't play on successive nights.
But Coffey has demonstrated some of the form that saw him capture three Norris trophies.
Coffey's secret? He has been given more playing time to round into form and is healthy for the first time in two seasons.
"It's a catch-22 thing," he said. "You have to play to get your game going. I'm getting the chance to get out there and I feel good again. The past couple years, personally, it was a frustrating injury-wise."
Coffey suffered nerve damage in his lower back during training camp in 1998, causing his right leg to go numb. He had difficulty turning to the right while skating. Finally, during the summer, he began to get the feeling back in his right leg.
"I actually feel really good," Coffey said. "I've tried throughout the past two months to keep up my work ethic. I didn't want to cheat the game."
It looks like Coffey, who is in the last year of his contract, may play a while longer. But he doesn't want to discuss retirement.
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