Hello NY and everywhere else, welcome to the Birdcage. Once again we are very lucky to have a guest writer, my friend Coat from the Czech Republic. With the recent poor play by our Blueshirts, this interview gives a little insight as to some of the issues this team is facing and what we as fans don't hear about from the local beat writers.

The interview itself was preceded by a sort of disclaimer that I have printed below. I take it to mean that Jan wasn't very comfortable saying some of the things he did and would NOT be saying this to a New York reporter. Trust me on this.....the interview is real and Jan did say these things. ----}- Bird

Yesterday I had a chance to talk few minutes with our player Jan Hlaváč. This is an unofficial interview. I used only small part of it in my recent article. If Glen or someone else points a gun at me still I wouldn’t confirm this was said by Jan. Take it like the fiction from Coat.

Jan Hlavac

A: I am not playing, that’s my situation.

Q: How did you get there?

A: I am not trying to find some excuses. Simply I didn’t play well. It’s not like I wasn’t trying but nothing I tried really worked.

Q: I mean how did it happen, because in my opinion you had good start to the season. You were one of the better Rangers for sure.

A: Well, I think I can agree with you. Start of the season wasn’t easy for anybody here. We lost 2 games badly, maybe you remember that. I started with Alex and Petr on the line. When you play with players like them you must accept that you are the third. I didn’t have problem with it. I was trying to help them as much as I could. I was trying to play more defense than I did in past. I was trying to use more body. But this isn’t the style I am capable of. Maybe it was my fault that I wanted to be someone else, to be different player. But we were worse and worse as a line. When this happens you are trying to change something. You change what you think was bad. If it doesn’t work you are trying to change even the things, which were probably right. Eventually you don’t know what has been good and what hasn’t. You are lost. Especially when you are expecting some help from your coach and it (help) isn’t coming.

Q: You said you had been trying to fit well with Kovalev and Petr. But in times it looked like you were playing like 3 individuals and not like compact line.

A: It’s hard for me to comment this. I don’t want to say it was somebody’s fault. But for sure there was significant lack of communication between us. Suddenly no one from us wanted to submit to other. Alex thought he is right and mistake is somewhere else. So did Petr. When this reached the top Alex was moved to Robert’s line.

Q: Team didn’t play well and the only guy benched (for whole games) is you. Do you think it was right?

A: As I said I know I didn’t play well. I don’t want to comment if there is somebody else who deserves benching or not. Our only rookie is Jed Ortmeyer. And this guy plays very well. I think he deserves to play. So then somebody has to sit. And the one is I. It’s all.

Q: You talked about lack of communication. Did you mean just problems on the ice or off the ice as well? I heard something changed about you and Petr.

A: No comment.

Q: So everything is OK?

A: I would say it isn’t the fun it was before (my trade). I don’t think there are some problems between us. Maybe we have just changed since then, yeah we have grown. When I say it isn’t big fun now I don’t mean there were some wild parties etc. I mean everything has changed, life has changed, and we have changed too. You can never step to same river twice.

Q: I heard about some disagreement between you.

A: It wasn’t like this. I just expected Petr to support me in one thing and he didn’t. He wasn’t against me but wasn’t with me. Look, this season he has enough problems with himself and I can’t expect him to care about mine.

Q: What do you think your future will be? Do you want to leave?

A: No. I was so happy to sign here and it didn’t change. I can tell you only the same words like all players before me who got to the same situation. I will work hard and wait for second chance. Now I don’t know what to wish. I’d love to play but I fear to suddenly get 20 minutes of ice time. After few years in this business you know what it means. I really don’t want to leave.

Q: Do you think your contract and its structure has something to do with fact that you are the one who is benched?

A: I don’t think so. Even my contract is based on various bonuses. Every game I miss has big influence. But I don’t think it has some influence. In my case it’s about thousands of dollars. Do you think club throwing away millions cares about this? Glen believes to other guys and not to me. That’s all. This is where it ends and begins. He wanted me to play better defense first then he was complaining about my lack of offence. It’s hard.

Q: Last night you lost badly with the Flames. What is the atmosphere in locker room?

A: Of course it isn’t good. But I don’t think it’s so different from the past. We have to get together. We have to shut up and accept that there is our chief in the lockers, like it or not. I believe everything will change for good.

Once again, many thanks to our buddy Coat. Let us all hope for good things in 2004 for Coat, Jan and our New York Rangers.

You can discuss the interview here on the boards.

----}- Bird

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