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Rob Scuderi battles Taylor Pyatt of Phoenix for the control of the puck. (Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press) |
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What a concept.
An athlete wins a championship, disagrees with his team about what he's worth and leaves as a free agent but carries no grudges. He flings no insults at his former bosses and conducts himself with class and dignity with his new team, whose own title dreams are distant and fuzzy.
Thank you, Rob Scuderi. There may yet be hope for professional sports.
The veteran defenseman, who signed a four-year, $13.6-million contract with the Kings a month after he won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins, had nothing but good things to say as he prepared to face his former club Thursday night for the first time.
"There's no bitterness, no nothing. I think the only thing you can call it is mutual respect," he said after the Kings practiced Wednesday in El Segundo. "Even after I made my decision I had a long talk with [Penguins General Manager] Ray Shero. It's one of those things that happens. It's part of the business.
"I was very confident in my decision that I was coming to a place that would have a good team, because I didn't want to play for a team that was going to be in last place every year."
He expects it will be "a little weird" to face the players he skated alongside not only last season but long before. Between college and the pros, he teamed with fellow defenseman Brooks Orpik for about a decade.
Many of those players called or texted to wish him well after he chose the Kings' offer over a less lucrative offer from the Penguins.
"It was a tribute to the chemistry we had as a group in Pittsburgh. Hopefully they haven't lost that and that's something that we're trying to build here," he said.
"We're a team that's hoping to become what they are."
But if the situation calls for him to level one of his former teammates during the game at Staples Center he won't hesitate to do what's necessary.
"Once the game starts you're all playing for the same thing," he said. "Like when you're playing someone you don't know, you don't want to hurt anybody, but at the same time we are playing to win."
The Kings are winning. They've earned standings points in seven straight games (5-0-2) and rank among the NHL's biggest surprises this season. Scuderi has been a key part of that.
Kings Coach Terry Murray lauded Scuderi's obvious assets -- his mobility, smarts and unrelenting devotion to defense -- but saved his highest praise for Scuderi's work behind closed doors.
"Sometimes, as quiet as I think he is, when I walk into the dressing room before the set time I'm coming in to address the team between periods, he's a very vocal guy in there," Murray said.
"He says the right things. He's talking about the game, what needs to be adjusted to, maybe some of the areas of the game that we're making poor decisions. He's talking to the team about it. I love that. That kind of took me by surprise, I guess. He seems to be more of a stay-to-yourself, quiet player. But he's not. He's the opposite in the locker room."
Being a Cup winner gives him instant credibility.
"When you've got the job done, everybody's listening," Murray said.
The Penguins are winning too, despite losing Sergei Gonchar, Evgeni Malkin and Maxime Talbot to injuries. They're 7-0-0 on the road and have an NHL-best 12-3-0 record.
"The toughest thing in sports, the toughest thing in hockey I've ever experienced, is winning whenever you're supposed to win. And they are doing it," Murray said.
An athlete wins a championship, disagrees with his team about what he's worth and leaves as a free agent but carries no grudges. He flings no insults at his former bosses and conducts himself with class and dignity with his new team, whose own title dreams are distant and fuzzy.
Thank you, Rob Scuderi. There may yet be hope for professional sports.
The veteran defenseman, who signed a four-year, $13.6-million contract with the Kings a month after he won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins, had nothing but good things to say as he prepared to face his former club Thursday night for the first time.
"There's no bitterness, no nothing. I think the only thing you can call it is mutual respect," he said after the Kings practiced Wednesday in El Segundo. "Even after I made my decision I had a long talk with [Penguins General Manager] Ray Shero. It's one of those things that happens. It's part of the business.
"I was very confident in my decision that I was coming to a place that would have a good team, because I didn't want to play for a team that was going to be in last place every year."
He expects it will be "a little weird" to face the players he skated alongside not only last season but long before. Between college and the pros, he teamed with fellow defenseman Brooks Orpik for about a decade.
Many of those players called or texted to wish him well after he chose the Kings' offer over a less lucrative offer from the Penguins.
"It was a tribute to the chemistry we had as a group in Pittsburgh. Hopefully they haven't lost that and that's something that we're trying to build here," he said.
"We're a team that's hoping to become what they are."
But if the situation calls for him to level one of his former teammates during the game at Staples Center he won't hesitate to do what's necessary.
"Once the game starts you're all playing for the same thing," he said. "Like when you're playing someone you don't know, you don't want to hurt anybody, but at the same time we are playing to win."
The Kings are winning. They've earned standings points in seven straight games (5-0-2) and rank among the NHL's biggest surprises this season. Scuderi has been a key part of that.
Kings Coach Terry Murray lauded Scuderi's obvious assets -- his mobility, smarts and unrelenting devotion to defense -- but saved his highest praise for Scuderi's work behind closed doors.
"Sometimes, as quiet as I think he is, when I walk into the dressing room before the set time I'm coming in to address the team between periods, he's a very vocal guy in there," Murray said.
"He says the right things. He's talking about the game, what needs to be adjusted to, maybe some of the areas of the game that we're making poor decisions. He's talking to the team about it. I love that. That kind of took me by surprise, I guess. He seems to be more of a stay-to-yourself, quiet player. But he's not. He's the opposite in the locker room."
Being a Cup winner gives him instant credibility.
"When you've got the job done, everybody's listening," Murray said.
The Penguins are winning too, despite losing Sergei Gonchar, Evgeni Malkin and Maxime Talbot to injuries. They're 7-0-0 on the road and have an NHL-best 12-3-0 record.
"The toughest thing in sports, the toughest thing in hockey I've ever experienced, is winning whenever you're supposed to win. And they are doing it," Murray said.
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