I don't want to get in a situation where he is 90 percent and gets re-injured and is out for another week. . . . We won't take that risk.

You couldn't ask to live and be in a better city or be in a better situation. But how long I was going to coach, I wasn't sure. But I will say this: I truly have enjoyed it much more than I probably anticipated when I started in September.

I don't want to get into a situation like 2002 when we picked the team so early and then some players got hot later and we got criticized,

We're in a tough situation because of teenage children, and then we have a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old, so my family and my responsibilities is sort of a juggle.

Ninety percent of hockey is mental and the other half is physical.

It's always a tough situation when a great player has to retire. He's meant so much to not only the National Hockey League, but the city of Pittsburgh and that franchise. You don't replace players like Mario Lemieux. He's a great hockey player and a good person. The game will miss him.