Brad May

This interview with Brad May was done after the morning skate on March 14 , 1998
at the Nassau Coliseum. Despite numerous injuries , Brad hasn't lost
any of the zeal he possessed as an exciting rookie in 1991-92. His upbeat
personality makes him a lot of fun to be around.

FD- Have you always played a physical game?

BM- Not until I was fifteen. In my first year in the OHL , my coach Bill LaForge brought out my physical side. When I got to the OHL , certain roles had to be accepted to make the team.

FD-Any Niagara Falls teammates make it to the NHL?

BM-Some of my teammates who have played in the NHL include Dennis Vial , Keith Primeau , Paul Laus , Mark Lawrence , Keith Osborne , Stan Drulia , and Scott Pearson.

FD-Did you fight anyone in the OHL who made it to the NHL?

BM-Louie DeBrusk , Shawn Antoski , Bob Boughner , and Denny Lambert are some of the guys I fought in the OHL.

FD-What was your reaction to being drafted?

BM-There was some pressure being chosen so high , but you should put pressure on yourself to succeed. I worked really hard to put myself in a position to make the Sabres in my first training camp. I might have played with Buffalo the season before , but I hurt my knee during the World Junior tryouts. I'm pretty confident I could have played with the Sabres that year , but I didn't have a chance due to my knee.

FD-When did the comparisons to Rick Tocchet start and did they ever get to you?

BM-It never got to me. I love Tocchet , Cam Neely , and Shayne Corson and those were the guys I wanted to be like. I've had some good offensive seasons and maybe I've been more physical than the other three ever were. I've fought Tocchet four times in one year and , doing that with guys I look up to was great. To have them embrace you after a fight , to tap you on the back and say "good fight , kid" , these are highlights I will never forget.

FD- Tell me about your 1st NHL game.

BM-Lots of butterflies. I played with Rick Vaive and Christian Ruuttu and we played against Pittsburgh's line of Mario Lemieux, Kevin Stevens and Mark Recchi. Our line was +2, I had a goal and even though we lost, we shadowed Lemieux's line all game and shut them down. It was a great and very memorable day.

FD-Tell me about your1st NHL goal.

BM-Rick Vaive passed me the puck and sent me in on a breakaway on Tom Barrasso (a former Vezina trophy winner) and I just went shelf on him (laughs)

FD-Tell me about your1st NHL fight

BM-I don't remember the first one, but my first big one was with Shayne Corson. In the Montreal Forum, Saturday night , Hockey Night In Canada, it was the best night. Off the draw, Gord Donnelly fought Mario Roberge and I fought Shayne Corson. It was very memorable.

FD-During your rookie season , you amassed 309 PIM. Were you trying to establish yourself or make a name for yourself?

BM-That was part of it and that was one way to make the team, to establish yourself in the same way. Bill Laforge was a big part of that. My father Ken and my stepfather Doug also played a major part in that. They said you have to make yourself known every night with a goal or an assist and if not by scoring , then by playing physical. It was fun.

FD-In the first half of your Buffalo career , you played with Gord Donnelly and Rob Ray. In the second half you played with Ray, Matt Barnaby and Bob Boughner. Is your job easier when you're not the only guy?

BM-Absolutely. What made it even easier was that Rob Ray, every game, had to fight the big guys (Tony Twist, Joe Kocur, Sandy McCarthy, etc) All the big guys went after Razor and left me alone. I never had to get into it with those guys because Razor was always there. Rob's as tough as anyone I've seen. I was able to play and play physical when I had to or wanted to. With Barney and Boogs, (and Rob), the four of us just had a nice competition amongst the four of us and once one of us got it going it was up to the other three to jump in.

FD- How frustrating have your injuries been?

BM-Up until now , it's frustrating because I've never had any real time to sit and rehab an injury. I blew out my shoulder in a fight and I compare it to Basil McRae in a way , because Basil and I got into a fight and Basil fell and separated his shoulder. It's one of those things that’s always on your mind. We have a tough last fifteen games(with Vancouver) and then I will have the whole summer to get it better and stronger and have the confidence to get at it again. I've had that injury, broken hands, etc, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Every injury I've had , I've gotten by playing "balls out", 100% and freaky accidents. I don't worry about it except to know I have to rehabilitate myself to get back in that flow for next season.

FD-In 1993-94 , you had 83gp-18g-27a-45pts-171pim. Are those realistic numbers or can you score 60-70pts and get 200 pim?

BM-I had that year and , another year I had 44pts and 300pim. Those are good numbers and those two seasons, I thought I should have had 60 pts. I'm excited about what I can do. Instead of hitting posts, if you're a hair of an inch to the inside of the post , its going in. Once you get on a roll, you've got to keep it going. I'm confident in what I can do.

FD-Talk about the "May Day" goal.

BM-The whole year was a good year. Our team scored 300+ goals all year and I scored the biggest goal and that’s the one that’s remembered. I was just in the right place at the right time. It was a good goal , to get past Ray Bourque and Andy Moog but it was just good timing and its given me a nickname anyway.

FD- When I interviewed Matt Barnaby , I asked him who the toughest one out of the four of you(May , Barnaby , Boughner , and Ray) were. Matt and Bob Boughner said Brad May. You're now on the spot- who is theÊtoughest of the four?

BM-In my opinion , I would fight any one of those guys , but all four of us are tough in our own way. I don't want to say that I am the toughest because Razor is a trooper, he fights anybody and if you fight him ten times, he'll keep coming back

FD- How tough was last season withÊall the distractions in Buffalo?

BM-Last year was successful and it was just tainted by all the changes in the off-season and all the other stuff that swirled above the team. Outside of that, John Muckler was Executive of the Year, Teddy Nolan was Coach of the Year and another problem involved the goaltender , and he was the Vezina Trophy winner. It was a good year which could have been better maybe if everything did work , but the distraction might have been good for the team because we had the ability to tune it out. I think it's a credit to the guys we had in the locker room to be able to tune it out and succeed like we did.

FD-How was your season going in Buffalo and what was your reaction when you were traded?

BM-The Sabres battled back to get to .500 and I felt I was a big part of that and when I was traded , Buffalo got a 40 goal scorer and now I'm playing with Bure and Messier and Steve Staios(laughs) and its a dream come true to go to Vancouver. Change is good, I'll miss Buffalo but I'm now a Vancouver Canuck and the Buffalo days are memories.

FD- Is the dream playing with Messier and Bure or Steve Staios?

BM-I played junior with Staios so it was nice to get back together with him. I look at myself as a leader but now with Messier, I can learn from the best.

FD- Is this similar to your rookie year when you played with Lafontaine and Mogilny?

BM-It is, but on the other hand, Alex is on the team right now, and it's on a different level with Messier. He's a guy who has won six cups. He doesn't do anything special or that different, its just the respect he commands, he walks in the room and you can feel it.

FD- You seem to be a Keenan type player. How do you like playing for him?

BM-Mike has been great. He is so determined and dedicated to winning that it rubs off on his guys and the guys it doesn't are the guys who are not around. Everybody has their own opinion but I think he's great . He's won wherever he has been. He's a great coach and an unbelievable motivator.

FD-Vancouver has a tough team. Is there enough room on this team for all the tough guys?

BM-Everyone can play and probably can be in the line-up at one time and help the team. A few times this year they have all been in the line-up and nothing has happened.

FD- If this team , made up as it is now, started a season, could it be successful?

BM-Since a few games before the Olympic break, we're playing .700 hockey. We had a tough loss in Philly in which we should have tied or won. We were up 2-1 going into the 3rd and lost the game. We can be a really good team and we will be, but because of the slow start you're behind the 8-ball before you get anything going.

FD-You are a restricted free -agent. Chances are, you'll be back in Vancouver-are you looking forward to that?

BM-I can't wait. The Canucks have been great to me and I hope they look at me as part of their future. My fingers are crossed and if I put a lot of work into it over the summer, things should work out.

FD-What are your summer plans?

BM-Rehab my shoulder big time, that's my number one priority, Play a little golf, relax and sell my house in Buffalo. Get rid of everything in Buffalo , since I won't be back.