Jun 5, 2008 2:20 pm US/Eastern
Lemieux: We'll Be Back & We'll Be Much Better
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
He hasn't said much to reporters during the Stanley Cup playoffs, but after his team's heartbreaking loss to the Red Wings last night, Penguins owner and former player Mario Lemieux assured players and fans that "we'll be back and we'll be much better next time."
After coming so close to a Stanley Cup Championship, Lemieux made his way to the locker room after the game to console his team.
While he knows how disappointed they feel, Lemieux says he's confident that the loss – as difficult as it was – will actually make them a better team.
"It's tough," Lemieux told reporters. "Once you get there, you expect to win. It's disappointing tonight, but hopefully they learn from it."
He added that even though the players are distraught now, they'll benefit from the Stanley Cup experience and become even better players for it.
"This was a great experience," Lemieux added. "It's disappointing, but we'll be back!"
Lemieux went on to say that he's very proud of the players and the coaches – adding that fans "have been tremendous all year."
Addressing questions about just how many of the players will be back next season, Lemieux at first joked, "I'm not the GM. I don't know."
He went on to say that it won't be easy and they won't be able to keep everyone in a Penguin uniform.
"It's going to be tough," Lemieux added. "In the salary cup era, you have to pick your poison and that's what we'll be discussing in the next few weeks – see which direction we want to go. It's going to be tough, very tough to keep everybody; but we have our core guys – young guys who are going to be with us hopefully for a very long time and we just have to build around them."
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