The Montreal Gazette’s Dave Stubbs sat down with NHL veteran Tomas Plekanec to discuss a variety of topics. Here’s the Q&A:
Q: So how do you pronounce your name?
A: PLEK-a-nets (laughs). Really, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care at all anymore. I’m fine when people say it Ple-CAN-ek, but it’s PLEK-a-nets.
Q: You’ve been “traded” more times than you probably can count. Some will say that now, as you head into the final year of your contract, would be the ideal time to trade you alone or packaged with someone else or prospects for a high return. Do you even hear the trade rumours in this town?
A: I’ve been part of those rumours every summer. I’ve been traded so many times, it doesn’t bother me. But this is the first summer I’ve spent most of the summer here in Montreal and now, when people meet me in the street, they say, ‘we hope you stay with us.’ It’s kinda funny, the first time I’ve experienced rumours going around and I’m here for people to tell me about them. I’ve heard from friends who say, ‘we’ve heard you’re going here or there, is it true?’ Honestly, I don’t know. We’ll see. It doesn’t bother me.
Q: GM Marc Bergevin has a way of signing and trading players completely off the radar. Does that surprise you?
A: It’s amazing that he can do that in Montreal, eh? He’s doing a good job if he can do those kind of things and nobody knows about it. He knows what he wants to do with the team and he’s really out there to make this team better.
Q: You were one of four alternate captains on the Canadiens this season, the second time in six years the team has not had a captain. How important is the C, leadership by committee and would you enjoy wearing it?
A: I don’t think not having a captain hurt us this season or in 2009-10. When Saku (Koivu) was captain, he was the one who would speak first but it was and it is never just one guy. It’s the group. The most experienced guys will speak, then the young guys are added to it. There’s no restriction saying that a younger guy can’t speak up and say something. I think having everyone contribute is the thing to do.
Montreal Canadiens rookie forward Tomas Plekanec in action against the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre in 2008.
Q: You scored your first NHL goal on Oct. 15, 2005. How much about it do you remember?
A: Everything. It was against Toronto. I was put on the left with Mike Ribeiro and Michael Ryder. We cycled the puck, (Ribeiro) found me on top of the circle left side and I snapped one high glove (side) on Eddie Belfour. It might have been seven minutes into the third period (5:33, in fact). I have the puck somewhere, in my garage back home. My mom’s taking care of it. I’m sure she has it somewhere.
Q: It’s a very rare day that you’re not the first guy on the ice for practice. Do you sleep at the rink in Brossard?
A: (Laughs) I’m always early, before some coaches get there. I’m at the rink at 8:15 for an 11 a.m. practice. Most time I eat at home but this year, I’ve started eating more at the rink. I like to eat early, take my time. I can’t eat at 10 and skate at 11. I used to get to the Bell Centre early on game nights but since I started playing a lot of minutes, I realized I’d use too much energy sitting around, waiting. So now I get to the rink two hours before a game.
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Q: You’re approaching your 33rd birthday. Has the calendar changed the way you play the game, or train for it?
A: On the ice, I think more about system stuff now. You understand more if you’re in position or not. Sometimes it hurts you to think too much and you understand you can read the game better and better with more experience. Off the ice, as you get older, you have to work harder. You have to work more, not less, if you want to keep up with those young guys who are faster every year. You can work better because you listen to your body more.
Q: Analytics and advanced stats are all the rage in the NHL today. How much attention do the players pay to them?
A: We talk about them here and there, but I don’t think anybody’s paying much attention to them. Sometimes we have a good laugh about them. Really, you can’t approach your game and the way you play it worrying about your Corsis.
Tomas Plekanec seen here in 2010.
Q: Do teammates make fun of you for your turtlenecks?
A: Sometimes. I have nothing to do with it (laughs), I’ve just been wearing it since my Hamilton days. I tried to wear one on the Czech national team, but they wanted the collar turned in. I was (peeved) about it, I wanted to show the Canadiens logo to everybody. … I still have one that’s five or six years old, since they changed the fabric to something I don’t like as much. I have a decent one, but it’s not perfect. I’m trying to keep the old one going. It’s falling apart, but I still use it.
Q: Is there a practical joker you fear most in the dressing room?
A: I’m not scared of anyone. No one bothers me much.
Q: Isn’t saying that a kiss of death?
A: (Laughs) Prusty sometimes. Markie is hard on Chuckie (speaking of Brandon Prust, Andrei Markov and Alex Galchenyuk). Markie cuts Chuckie’s laces, things like that. Chuckie needs it and Markie is right on him, taking care of him. Markie doesn’t talk much but when he does, he’s funny.
Q: How many pairs of skates and sticks do you go through in a season?
A: Six or seven pairs of Bauers. I’m old-school with gear. I’m still using the style of gloves I wore 10 years ago. And I prepare three Sher-Woods per game. A couple games this year I broke all three, and then I’ve played with one stick for two or more games.
Q: Does the pain of playoff elimination linger with you?
A: For me, once it’s over, I kind of just let it go. Don’t get me wrong, it bothers me for a few days. But then you realize that once it’s over, there’s nothing you can do, so you plan your summer and get ready to be better next year.
Q: Slowly, you’re working toward getting your pilot’s licence. How’s that going?
A: I did my first solo flight last summer (in Kladno), which was pretty cool. I dreamed of that when I was a kid. I never really thought I’d be able to do it. I’m not that close yet. The solo was good, but I’m missing a few more hours of flying different routes and I’m missing the theory. Next summer back home I might be able to do a little more. The solo was unreal. Just a little stronger wind and I probably would have crashed (laughs), but it was fun. You see everything from up there.
Q: Not that you’ll tweet about it, right? You’re a social media holdout. Do you feel left out?
A: I read the news on my phone and even with that there’s half-truth to what’s being reported. You go for the most official things you can find. What matters to me is how I feel about my game.
Q: So we shouldn’t look for you on Twitter any time soon?
A: (Laughs) Guys in the room have Twitter, most do. I was thinking about having one but I didn’t do it. Especially here. Maybe it’s a little different in other cities, I don’t know. If there’s anything big, trust me, I’ll know the minute it’s out (laughs). All the guys will bring it to the room. I don’t really need Twitter, there’s 20 accounts in the room anyway.
