"You have to be a good leader and a good politician," Pilote told the Hockey Hall of Fame. "We had three or four superstars and you had to know how to handle these guys. No matter how good a captain you are, it's just like politics — you have to win a majority. You have to have the guys on your side, but there's always a little bit of dissension and you're always trying to fix it before it gets too far and gets into the office. If a guy had a beef, we'd talk about it. If it was reasonable, I'd go to the management. I just tried to lead by example."