No matter the sport, one of the biggest goals for any professional athlete is to leave the game on his terms. More often than not though, things don’t work out that way. Such was the case with Steve Konowalchuk. A 13-year NHL veteran, the forward was hoping to make a big comeback after losing most of the 2005-06 season to a wrist injury. However, just before the start of training camp, a physical revealed the presence of long QT syndrome, a disease that can lead to irregular heart rhythms. Immediately afterward, Konowalchuk announced his retirement. Recently, the 33-year-old chatted about what happens next.
Anthony Cotton: Long QT syndrome – had you ever heard of it before?
Steve Konowalchuk: Yeah, a little bit. Someone in my family had had it in the past, so I had a little bit of an idea of what it was.
AC: How did it manifest itself?
SK: I was feeling great. I’m still feeling great. It was just the routine physical that we have coming into camp. Something showed up on the EKG. There was an irregular heartbeat.
AC: Have you come to terms with this yet?
SK: Oh, I don’t know. There are good days and bad days, but life goes on. Right now, I’m just taking it easy, enjoying being with my family. I’m looking at other things to do, but I don’t know if you come to terms with it. There are a lot of times when I’m not happy with what happened, but life goes on. It’s just where I’m at, that’s how I look at it.
AC: So have you made any plans about what you’ll do next?
SK: I don’t have anything right now. I’m just going to take some time this year. As to what’s in the future, I don’t know. There may be an opportunity in the Avs’ organization, but I’m really just going to take some time.
AC: Right now, is it better to keep away from it? Did you watch the opening two games?
SK: I watched the first game, and the second one, I was kind of watching it while doing some stuff. I still care about a lot of the players in the organization. They’re my friends and I’d like to see how they’re doing.
AC: It must have been just as shocking to them to hear that you had to quit.
SK: Yeah, there was some shock, maybe just as much as me. I mean, one day, you’re with them getting ready for camp and then you’re not. But they were very supportive and I know that they’re there for me.
AC: When you look back at your career, what comes to mind?
SK: I’m proud of where I came from. I wasn’t one of the favorites to make the NHL. I wasn’t a first-round draft pick, I wasn’t supposed to make junior hockey. But I just plugged along and put a lot of years together. I’m proud of that, proud that I got to play a game that I loved. At first, you hope that you can get to 30; then when you get to 33, your goals change, you want to play quite a few more years.
AC: What do you smile about? Playing in the Finals in 1998 (as a member of the Washington Capitals)?
SK: Yeah, that was fun. The World Cups were fun. The first year in Colorado (2003-04) was fun. It was just a fun team to come to – it was great, playing with great players and knowing every night the other team was coming out to get you. Just feeling the energy that was there. Playing with Joe Sakic and Adam Foote and Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne, it was great to be a part of that bunch and being a legitimate favorite for the Cup.
AC: Do you feel cheated at the way things turned out over the last couple of years?
SK: I don’t know if it’s cheated; injuries are part of the game. They’re going to happen – when, you just don’t know. The last couple of years, the lockout year – that was something of an anomaly. The last couple of years were definitely frustrating, they made me want to come back and have a great year this year.
AC: You didn’t really have much of a chance to be part of the new NHL. Did you like what you saw?
SK: I did, I did. The biggest thing to me was the fans’ reaction. There may have been some changes to the tradition, some things done for the fans’ sake, but they’re the ones who are going to make or break the game and bring it to a new level. There was some good feedback, so I think they’re on the right track.
AC: So if it’s your NHL, what else do you do?
SK: (Laughs) Oh, I don’t know. I’d have to think about that one. I’m sure I could sit down and come up with a big list of things. You caught me offguard; I think they’re doing a good job, the changes are exciting.
AC: So what happens this season?
SK: I don’t know. In the new NHL, it’s going to be hard for any one team to be dominant. There’s going to be so much changeover from year to year, every team has a chance to jell together, season to season. Now it’s the team that’s getting it together late in the year heading into the playoffs. It’s just going to be hard to put together a powerhouse team.
AC: Salary-cap parity hits the NHL.
SK: Yeah. In some ways it’s kind of sad. I was talking to some fans the other night and they said they aren’t going to games anymore because it’s not the same, that all the players are leaving. It’s hard to identify with teams; but on the flip side, I guess, every team can say that they have a chance to win at the start of every season.
Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
