#5 Possibilities With Stephane Matteau Scoring One Of the Biggest Goals In New York Rangers History!

Welcome to the Mike Hartman Show. Mike is a performance coach and former Stanley cup champion with the New York Rangers. Topics on this show are focused around stories, mindset and champions. Mike will also go into details about helping you with your pain points and struggles and finding motivational solutions on how to have the mindset of a champion. Now, here's your host, Mike Hartman.

Welcome to another episode. Today we are continuing with the series Possibilities and I am going to introduce Stephon Matteo. Stephon was my first guest and my third as we had Adam Graves on. Not only is he one of the nicest people I've ever met, great guy, good to everybody. He scored the biggest goal in New York Ranger history. So, Stefan, great to hear you today.

Thanks for having me. Mike, how are you doing today?

I'm doing great. You know, I talk about life is built on relationships is one thing that we do. And you and I definitely have a great relationship. We go way back and we had you on, we heard your story. Now we're going to talk about the biggest goal in New York Ranger history. And I can say thanks to you, thanks to everybody else. Thanks to of course, Mark Messier. And we always had the big players and even we have guys like Eddie Oldchuk, who Mike Keenan called the support player. And I'm here looking at my little Stanley Cup. I have a Stanley cup ring, but I have to thank you.

Well, that's very nice. But they, you know more than, than anybody else that it was a team effort. I was fortunate enough to be placed in that position, to succeed and I, I, I never wanted to let anyone down. But the journey was incredible. We had a lot of fun, but when it was time to be serious, we were serious. But what a ride that we had. And I'm still like, you introduced me. And talk about the biggest goal in Rangers. That was obviously my biggest goal in my life, in my wildest dream. But I am very thankful for the New York Rangers and Neil Smith and Mike Keenan to put me in that position. Otherwise, nothing that would have been, nothing would have been possible if they didn't believe in me.

Well, you said the word possible. We talk about possibilities. Let's just start us off. When you were really a young kid growing up in Quebec, I don't want to speak for you. You could tell us your dream and we'll go from there.

Well, I grew up outside of Montreal and a small town named Noranda, Quebec. My best friends were Pierre Turjon, Eric Desjardins, Sylvain Turjan. So I grew up with A lot of hockey players and we pushed ourselves and just like anybody else growing up in hockey environment, that our dream was to, to. To play in the National Hockey League and also winning the Stanley Cup. So we visualize very early in our life that winning the Stanley cup, it's all right, it's all right to dream about it. But also we pushed ourselves and we were very successful, but never thought also I was, I was gonna, that was gonna happen in my life. So kept pushing. And then I went to play juniors with great players. I play with Jeremy Roenick, Luke Robitaille, Martin, Gilina Kaldejaus, and I play with a lot of players who inspired me every time they went to a NHL training camp, every time they came back and they would share their story. So I said, well, that's possible. If they went through that, it's possible for, for me to maybe one day play in the National Hockey League. And then sure enough, I played. I made the team with the Calgary Flames when I was 20, 20 years old. And my career lasted 13 years and two Stanley cup finals and one win with the New York Rangers in 1994.

Well, I know you and I talked about it. I mean, it's a heck of a career. I mean, you had a, you had a great career. You know, you're a big, strong player. And I remember when the New York Rangers traded for you, it's like, boy, I remember you in Chicago. Just a, you know, just a big, big body to play against. So we're just going to talk about the dream because I always tell people, if you can't see it, nobody else will. And you saw yourself scoring that big goal. I'm going to leave the mic for you. Take it through to us. We're going to talk a little bit about Eddie Oldchuck, how we greeted you in the hallway and how this all came about. But this possibility episode is. It touches home to me because of our relationship, but also just share how it happened. The biggest goal in Ranger history. I'm going to leave it to you.

Well, it's. Our team in 94 was built to win the Standing cup or at least go very far in the playoffs. So they traded a very good player, Antonio Mani, to acquire me and myself and Brian Noonan. So even though we didn't put any extra pressure on our shoulders, we knew we had to chip in and there was not a better feeling. When I played my first game with the New York Rangers in Calgary, I was put on the line with Alexey Kovalev and Steve Larmor. Two great players and the ice time was there. The pressure wasn't there. I didn't put extra pressure on myself. But then we played the Islanders in the first round. We were very successful. We swept them in four. And then we played the Capitals in the second round and we beat them in five. And everyone throughout the playoff were talking about the New Jersey Devils. If we're going to win the Stanley cup, we're going to have to beat them. We played them in a regular season. It was a hard battle and I guess I fitted pretty good because it was a very physical series. And I had my worst game. I remember that game one at the Garden. I had my worst game when Stephane Richie scored in a double overtime. And it really took me to heart. And I. I had problem to sleep for two days. And then we won game two in game three. It was one of the most physical game I ever experienced. And we won in double overtime. And that was my first overtime goal in my career. And I was very pleased with that. And therefore there was a lot of pressure. Game four, Game five and the famous game six with Mark Messi when he guaranteed a game, not only guaranteed, but he. I scored a hat trick in the third period alone. And that set the stage for game seven at the Garden. And I remember I was composed, I was fresh. I didn't think I was going to score the biggest goal. I just wanted to be there and live the moment. And sure enough, in second overtime I had the opportunity to wrap it around and I scored. But just before the this between the first and second overtime, Eddie Olchuk, who didn't play much in the playoff, but he was crucial to like you mentioned before, he was there like yourself and a lot of the team member on our team. They supported everyone. And he kissed my stick and he wished me good luck. And I as I'll be right back with the winning goal. And lucky enough that I scored in 26, 27 years later, people still talk about it. What a great moment. And I times flying and I still even today I was at West Palm Beach Costco and someone recognized me and we Talked for about 10 minutes about the moment. So people I remember like every time I step foot in New York, people keep talking about it and what a better feeling. What a great feeling.

Yeah, not even New York. I mean what you did was amazing and couldn't happen to a better guy. And even the police officer Arben who owns Todino's Pizza as well. And when I told him you're coming to have lunch with me Because I became friendly with him in Hoboken. He goes, where? What time? When I said, okay, we're gonna meet? I don't know, noon, he's coming in. And after you left, the neat thing about you step on is you leave an impact on everybody. And that's the most impressive thing. So, yes, it's nice that you scored the biggest goal in Ranger history, but it's also great that the character that you have and you giving back and sharing that moment with everybody is so special.

Yep. Thank you very much. But I. I was uncomfortable after the moment because I never felt that was worthy of the moment. But having a teammate like Adam Graves, who's been a mentor for me, I know he always giggle when every time I mention that, but it's true. For 26, 27 years now, my mentor has been. Look, I've been looking at Adam Graves, mostly, the way he handled himself with the fans and the people who works at Madison Square Garden. And I was always a kind person. But I've learned to go sometime, to go out of my way to go to an adult and talk to them, because I. I wasn't like that earlier in my career, earlier in my life. But just the impact that we have, talking to an adult, a grandfather, a grandmother, a grandkid, just to go introduce myself. And what a great feeling, though. But it's something that I learned over the years, and being humble and be grateful, that's something that I will do for the rest of my life.

You said something that's really true. We couldn't do it alone. And a lot of what we do is in our business, we do coach coaching or leadership training or just being there for people. And that's so important. I'm going to take us back to the team we had, and I'm just going to think about just the guys that played for the Edmonton Oilers that won all those Stanley Cups, and Gibby won a Stanley cup with the New York Islanders. But we had guys like Mark Messier, Kevin Lowe, McTavish. I mean, the list goes on and on of true champion, good people. And maybe you could refresh everybody's memory. Do you remember what Kevin Lowe said in the dressing room just prior to everybody going out to on the ice for your Game seven big goal. You may not remember. If I could refresh your memory.

If you don't, well, go ahead. But I have so much respect for Kevin Long because us Rangers 94 players, we are. We witness some greatness, leadership in our dressing room. And those guys, they were really mentioned into the team. Like, my name came up a lot. Graves, Zubov, Leach. But the guys like McTavish and Kevin Lowes and Gibby and Eddie Olczyk and they were like, crucial because the way they were leading the way by being by set the example, but also they understand their roles and they were just amazing. But I, Kevin Lowe kept it very simple. I remember that. Just keep playing the game the way you are doing and we'll be successful. But I'm. I'm interested to hear what your thought on what he said.

Well, Kevin Lowe, just basically the leadership that they've been there so many times. I mean, six Stanley Cups, seven Stanley Cups, were sitting, sitting in the room with Mark Messier, who was my hero growing up. And, and I told him that and he kind of gave me a funny look. He goes, really? I go, mess, you were my hero as a kid. But so, so Kevin Lowe stood up and he said, you know, everybody's in the locker room, it's very quiet. And he says, hey, what would it be? It wouldn't be the same if we didn't win in overtime. And just so composed and relaxed. Like, people would ask me, are these guys nervous before a game? Do they like it? Not at all. You would. They're just composed or relaxed. They're the most professional people that I've ever been around in my life. And I look back and I have to pinch myself for me, that I really play on that team, that I really play with these guys. And, and I think of you all the time, because every time, like, I'll turn on something. And I watched Wayne Gretzky recently come on the NHL.com and talked about Stefan Matteo. He said, unlikely hero, meaning it wasn't a Messier or a Larmor or one of our Graves, but you were still a great player and you scored that goal. So now you have one of the best guys ever to put skates on on the planet. Talking about your big goal. How does that feel?

That was incredible. Wayne Gretzky, my first hockey jersey, or my only hockey jersey growing up was an Edmonton oilers was a 99 jersey. And my first NHL game was against the Oilers in Edmonton. And all those guys dressed for that, for that game. So looking down at Wayne Gretzky skates just. I was blown away just to look at the skates, the blue blades that he had, and Mark Messi, the stare that he had. So he was also my hero growing up. Growing up. So to be part of that team, I was fortunate to play on six different teams. But the best feeling I had as a professional athlete was going in to the locker room, grabbing my coffee and sitting down and enjoying. I remember that because everyone was so composed, respectful. There was no jab left and right. There was no jealousy. Gibby wasn't jealous because I, I kind of took his spot on the second, third, fourth line and he kept helping me. Eddie O took a back seat into that 1994 teams. He kept on grinding and that's how I felt. There was no jealousy on our group. A lot of great players, but mostly great individuals who I respect the most. Even 26, 27 years later.

And we talk about possibilities and we're going to get Eddie on the show. He was going to come on at one time, but then, you know, he's been, you know, pretty busy with NBC. But the one thing, if you think about it, he played one game and he was named players player by, by all of these players. And we voted for him, of course. But that, that just says a lot about the character of who we had around us all the time.

Absolutely. We, we had the best. The result, winning solve a lot of problems. But the way before we got there, even game six, going to New Jersey, the odds were against us and we were composed. Our leaders were leading the way. And it's amazing. I wish we had a camera hiding somewhere in the dressing rooms so the fans could show, could see how composed we were. There was nobody screaming and blaming everyone. And it was just like, we do our job and we're good enough to win every single game that we played. Obviously we didn't win ever. Everyone. But knowing that even though we can't, we're going to New Jersey for Game 6, which is a very tough building to play at the time. And just we had a chance to win. Down two, nothing after the first period. We thought maybe otherwise, but there's no way that Mark Messier and Kovalev and Leach and Zubov and all those guys, great players, they didn't smell the defeat. They just kept on pushing. That's what made the 1994 team so great, that even though we cruised the first two rounds, we played a lot of games in the last two rounds, two rounds against the Devils and the Vancouver Canucks. So that's what made it even more special.

You know, it's funny too. We talk about possibilities and we talk about different people and names. I never hear the name Zubov. And if anybody's, if you would ask anybody, okay, who led the New York Rangers top five in scoring, they would Never know that Sergey Zubov was up there. We. His name just isn't talked about. That's what a great team we had. What a great guy, talented player. We don't. They don't even. He's not talked about all that. You always hear about Graves, Leach, Richter. You barely hear about Zuboff.

There's a few players on our team, but Zubi was a. He was not the top five in the regular season. He was the number one scoring. Yeah, he led the team. So Neman Chinov and Doug Lidster and Jay Wells, like you, our favorite players are. Our favorite friends on the team were like the J. Wells and the Ado and people never. Jeff Bukaboom. All those guys were just amazing. Amazing. Joey Kosher, you can name them all. We were tough, we were good, and we had four good lines that could match against anyone in the league. So that's what make it even more special.

Yeah. And I look, as I get older, I pinch myself because I said, boy, I could have been traded at the end. And then Mike Keenan called me and says, nope, you're not going anywhere. And. And I just thought, you know, it's kind of. It was really. It is. It was a dream come true. And I just want to talk about Kevin Lowe. We had an event at David Letterman and you had to sign up on the board. So there was the top ten list. So you were going to do the top ten for David Letterman. And even though they embarrassed me on David Letterman, I think it was the PR guy. I'm still mad at him to this day. Jokingly, they really embarrassed me. They put this big heavy set guy out, and David Letterman said, mike Hartman eating. But that's not the point. The point is, I went to put my name on the board, and there was already 10 slots. And I said, ah, man, I'm frustrated. I wanted to take batting practice with the Yankees. I missed out, okay, I'm going to do something fun. You know, I'm not Nick Kiprios, our good buddy, who had, you know, it was MTV eating shells. I don't know what he was eating out of the Stanley Cup. It was crab or whatever. But the funny thing was, I go there and Kevin Lowe's name was on there. And he says, oh, you wanted to go, didn't you? I go, yeah, it's no big deal. He took his name off and added my name. And I said, you didn't have to do that. He goes, you know what, Hardy? Go have a great time. And I can never understand in life I can't meet people like that today. I meet a lot of great people, but for the life of me, Stefan, have you ever met people like that in your life that just took you in all the time and just like, took care of you like family?

I have a lot of good friends around my. My. Around me in my life. But as teammates, playing, playing on six different teams, like you. You playing on different teams also. It's just the hockey player. We are very unselfish. Older we get, I think we are more. Even more composed, even more respectful. But even those guys now, it's hard to beat. It's hard to describe. I know we've been talking a lot about those guys, but they were so respectful for everyone, so respectful for their teammates. And a lot of pictures about the Edmonton Oilers when they won those four standing cups in a row. Like you would look at a picture after a goal, you couldn't even tell which player scored because everyone jumped at the same time. There was no jealousy. And that's how we were also in 1994. We were a team, we were a family. And we. We overcome something that was so rare. Like after 54 years, we overcome one of their very rare things to do. It's to win the championship in New York City. And I. We couldn't. We couldn't have done that all with. With all those players and those characters and those serious players, those funny guys. And I. I've learned a lot through. And I used. I use those guys a lot in my life. And I want to be myself, but also I want to learn. I've learned from them, and I'm still learning from them.

Well, the takeaway here, we're going to conclude here, but the takeaway is anything's possible. But if you have good mentors, good coaches, good people around you, it opens up a world of possibilities. Stefan, hey. Thank you for scoring that big goal. I have to thank. I don't know if I've ever thanked you. You gave me your stick, but it wasn't even the real stick. I took the stick home with me and gave it to my brother. I said this was the game. Game seven goal stick. I took it off the shelf. But that's a funny story in itself. So great to have you. Thank you for sharing this. And, yeah, looking forward to the next time we talk.

Thanks, Mike. Have a good day. Thank you.

Thank you for listening to this episode of the Mike Hartman Show. If you're enjoying what you've heard so far, please feel free to rate, subscribe and leave a review on your preferred podcast listening platform. We really appreciate that effort. We'll catch you in the next episode of the Mike Hartman Show. Sam.