QUOTES CHARLIE COYLE TRADE CONFERENCE CALL Thursday, February 21, 2019

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD CHARLIE COYLE On his overall reaction to the trade and if he’s views it as more of a homecoming or fresh start… Well, it’s pretty crazy. You know, obviously the trade deadline’s coming up and it’s always a lot of talk and all that. You never know what’s going to happen. Yeah, I just looked at my phone, and I had a missed call from our GM, Paul Fenton, and obviously knew it was going to come most likely and then was told. Obviously, pretty shocking. I was ready to go on a road trip with the Wild and all that, and then your plans change in an instant. I think it’s going to be a good change of scenery. I think obviously going into a real winning culture here with the Bruins and the success they’ve had over the years, I’m really excited about that. I don’t know what to call it, but I’m just excited to be a part of that and bring my game, what I do well and see how that goes.

On how he picked the number 13… I just got a list of what was available, and I kind of narrowed it down. I don’t know it’s got the three in it, and I don’t know. I just kind of went with it. I wasn’t sure what to do, really. I’ve never been 13 before but figured I’d go with that.

On if playing for the Boston Bruins was ever a for him as a kid… Yeah, it definitely was. I think when you’re a little kid playing and fall in love with the game. You’ve got the big dreams and you want to play. I’m watching more Bruins games growing up in the Boston area, so that’s what you vision when you’re playing street hockey in your house or in practice or just skating on the pond when you’re younger. You envision you’re playing for the hometown team, and I definitely did some of that when I was younger, so obviously it’s a cool moment right now and I don’t think it’s fully hit me. But I’m pretty excited.

On if he’s close with anyone currently on the Bruins… Yeah, I mean I know a couple guys, but Chris Wagner especially. I played with him on the , as you probably know, and I work out and skate with him in the summertime over the last however many years. We’re pretty close with his family, and just growing up right down the street pretty much, couple towns over, so I’ve known Wags for a bit. It’ll be really cool to play alongside him again.

On if he went to TD Garden as a kid and who inspired him… Yeah, I mean, when I grew up I was friends with Tony Mozzi, so he was always my guy. He always what I looked for. A lot of the games we went to was when he came to town, but I’ve been to plenty of Bruins games over the years. There’s no guy in particular I watch. I would just, you know going to an NHL game and watching the hometown team. I just love that and to take all that in wishing you were out there with them, but there really wasn’t a specific guy or anything. I just loved growing up and being there and watching them on tv, at the Garden. Yeah, so it’s pretty cool growing up in a hockey city, a hockey community, so I’m glad to part of that now.

On his approach to shooting… Yeah, I mean I’ve been told to shoot more since I was 10 years old. It’s really nothing new. I think that’s always been my mentality, but I think I’ve worked on my shot enough to use it more often and create scoring chances off rebounds, and things like that. I mean over the years, it’s my seventh season I think playing, you’re still learning. You’re still finding ways to be a better player, and I think shooting the puck more is definitely something I can see that needs to be fixed, to put the puck in the net a little more. Yeah, I think I can do that and kind of put that in my game, and I think it’ll benefit myself, my teammates and the team as well.

On if there was one position, he was playing more this year than the other… Hard to say, I think it was, like you said, pretty 50/50. I was playing on the wing kind of towards the end, the last couple since we made a trade for Victor Rask. He came and played center, so I was bumped to the wing and played that for the last couple. I think as long as I’m playing in that position, whatever position and I play it well and get better at it. I started to find my stride this year. I felt comfortable and then obviously if my teammates make changes if he moves to the wing, and I start to find a groove in there as well. I don’t know what’s going to happen here. I’ll obviously talk to the coach when I get the chance and see what his thoughts are, and we’ll go from there.

On joining a team currently in the thick of a playoff hunt… You certainly don’t want to hold them down, do you now. They’ve been playing very, very well. I caught the game last night actually on tv, and they’re just finding ways to win. They got a lot of confidence in their game right now, and I just want to come in and add whatever I can to that and keep that good feeling, that good confidence going. And I’ll be able to do that. It helps knowing guys on the team, meeting the team getting a practice or two in with them. We’ll see how we gel, but I’m really excited to join this team, a great character group with just awesome guys. Guys who have been there and won, it’s a winning culture, and I’m just really excited about the opportunity to jump in and add whatever I can to that.

On if he’s had any interaction with his new teammates… Yeah, I was texting a little bit. I got a few texts from Chris Wagner and Torey Krug yesterday because I’ve known those guys. I was pretty shocked to get a call from Zdeno [Chara] and Patrice [Bergeron] yesterday before their game. I knew they were playing, so I didn’t really expect anything, so for them to call me welcome me that way. That was pretty classy, and I was pretty excited about that. That was just the players, and I obviously talked to Cam Neely and Don Sweeney, and I talked to them for a few as well. So, it was nice to have a bunch of people reach out and make me feel welcome and just excited about coming in to meet everyone.

On what role he envisions himself in on this team… I’m going to talk to the coach a little more, and see what his thoughts are, and share our opinions back and forth, see where I can best fit in and help the team, so we’ll hit that when it comes. It’s really an exciting time. You dream of this when you’re younger, and to come back home and play. I remember how excited Chris Wagner was this summer when he signed with the Bruins, and it was a cool feeling for me to watch him feel that way. You kind of envision what it would be like for yourself. To go through that now is really exciting, and all my family’s excited. I get to see them a little more, and I think it’s going to be a really great experience.

On if he saw this trade happening… It’s tough to say. I’ve been traded before. Not at the deadline, but in the summertime before I had played, but totally different. I feel like my name’s always popping up in trade rumors and all that and you hear scuttlebutt and whatever. I wasn’t really sure. I knew moves were going to be made, and I didn’t know if it was going to be me or not. I just, you know, you only can focus and control things you can control, and that’s not one of them for me, so I just didn’t real pay much mind to it. I was trying to let it play out. If it happens, it happens. There was no sense of worry about it as it is, so that’s how it went. You kind of just roll with it. It’s nice to be wanted by another team, so I think you take it as a positive, and it’s really nice to have that feeling and know that the Bruins liked me as a player and want me as a part of their team.

On what’s going to be running through his mind during his first game at TD Garden on Tuesday… You got me smiling just thinking about it. I’m really not sure. It’s going to be a lot of emotions. You know, I got family and friends working on tickets already, so I know there’s going to be people there. The same people that are always watching on tv when I’m out in Minnesota playing for the last however many years. It’ll be a little different with them in the building, but I think it’s going to be a really awesome experience. Obviously, I’m going to focus on the task at hand and make sure I’m ready to play and doing my job for my team, but I’m also going to enjoy the experience as well, and I think my family and friends will do the same.

On if he thinks about the long term with the Bruins… Not really. I mean, it’s in the back of my mind. There’s a lot of stuff going on right now in my mind, and I think I do a pretty good job of focusing on the task at hand here. I don’t look too far ahead. I’m not controlling that right now. That’s something I’ll talk about with my agents. My agents will handle it down the road, so I’m just really excited to be a part of this team, this year. You know, finish up the year strong and have a good playoff run. That’s what I’m most excited about, and I think we put all the efforts and that’s where my mindset’s at. I think that’s going to be the best thing right now, so that’s what I plan on doing.

On if playing one game on the road before heading home will help with his first game at TD Garden… Yeah, maybe it’s good. Maybe it’s good. You know, I played St. Louis many times over the years being in the same division. And yeah, I don’t think I’ll have too many friends out there. They’ll probably wait for the Tuesday game, but it might be nice to just settle in and focus on what I have to do and just make sure I play well for the team and get my mind ready to do that, so yeah, I think it can be.

#2/21/19#