Fleury

RYE, N.Y. -- Theo Fleury assured his New York Rangers teammates and coaches on Monday that he will no longer allow his personal problems to affect his demeanor on the ice.

"There's a certain amount of stress I've been under with personal issues that I'm dealing with," Fleury said after practice. "It hasn't been easy to play with that in the back of my mind."

Fleury, who said the problem is unrelated to his substance-abuse struggles last season, said he's also spoken to GM Glen Sather.

"Everybody knows my situation," Fleury said. "I'm doing all I can to make it better."

		Tue., January 8 I had a good talk Monday with the Rangers' Theo Fleury about the events that have taken place over the past week. I caught up with him while he was walking his dog. Theo and I have known each other since the late 1980s and because of our size -- or lack of size -- we have always had a good relationship. It is never easy for him. He just does things the hard way. Last year, he left the Rangers on Feb. 26 and entered the NHL/NHLPA sponsored rehab program. He needed help and he got it. He has nothing but great things to say about the program and the people who run it. It is a constant battle -- and it hasn't even been a year since he first went to the clinic. The recent incidents are the way he's been dealing with stress -- berating the officials, pointing his stick toward fans (at Denver), making contact with team mascots (San Jose's Sharkie) and simply leaving a game (at Pittsburgh). He was so frustrated with the refereeing -- and has been even before the road trip -- that his best option was just to leave the game and simmer down. That was his release at the time. He knows he has to forget about the officials, that he can't worry about the calls going against him. It's a factor many players have to deal with. But at the same time he has to play the way he plays, with passion and hunger. There is so much at stake for Theo -- the Olympics, the option year on his contract, and most of all, his life. Theo hit a rut. And when he did, he used the resources that are available to him. It's a matter of him not chasing his tail and getting back to business -- playing hard, making plays, being disciplined, scoring goals and walking the dog. Darren Pang's notebook

On New York's recent six-game road trip, Fleury amassed 42 penalty minutes to increase his season total to 153 minutes, second-highest in the league.

Most troubling, Fleury, who did not record a point during the trip, stormed off the ice with 7:37 to go in a game in Pittsburgh on Saturday after receiving his third slashing penalty.

At the time, he offered no explanation.

"I thought it was the right thing to do at that time," Fleury said. "A certain amount of frustration had built up. I didn't want to do something stupid and hurt the team."

Fleury did not elaborate on his personal problem except to say it is "strictly a family matter, not to do with me or the problems I had last year."

He said he "can't get into specifics" but that it involves a person he "cares deeply about."

Ominously and cryptically, Fleury added, "I want the best for them. I want for them to be safe. I don't think this person is safe. I'm working on it."

Fleury, who lives with his wife, Veronica, and his three children in Greenwich, Conn., during the season, left the Rangers for the final 20 games of last season to voluntarily treat an undisclosed substance-abuse problem.

"In the past, I dealt with things internally," he explained. "But I was on the phone all day yesterday talking to people who love and support me, asking for advice. That's something I didn't do in the past."

Fleury spoke calmly but with a hint of sadness in front of his locker for about 15 minutes before joking he had to make a "2 o'clock anger management class."

Fleury acknowledged he needs to improve his attitude.

"I have to put the puck in the net," he said. "I can't have my entire focus be on what calls have gone against me. The things that have been going on have been hurting this team. I've got to get it under control."

Fleury's conduct the entire trip was cause for concern.

"Any time you walk off like that, obviously something is really wrong," coach Ron Low said. "In that sense, we talked this morning at a team meeting.

"As we all know, Theo walks a fine line. But he's gone over the line, and it got to the point where it was hurting the team."

Low is sympathetic toward Fleury's off-ice issues, but also said the Rangers have the right to expect more from him.

"I know it's hard," Low said. "It's really, really difficult. Really difficult. And as an organization we stand behind him 100 percent, but the whole key is that Theo's got to stand with us."

The team meeting Monday morning convinced Low that Fleury will tone down his act.

"After today, I'm very confident," Low said. "He's an unbelievable soldier and he understands the line has been crossed. He wants to help and he's not by being in the penalty box."

Fleury promised to use common sense in dealing with the officials, and said he will "keep the faith" while dealing with his personal issues.

"I didn't expect things to be just hunky dory every day because of what went on last year," he said of his recovery. "There's some tough bumps in the road and that's what this is. But I have the tools now and I know how to deal with them."