Ruskowski Spurns Kings, Signs With Penguins

Terry Ruskowski, the Kings’ captain who became a free agent at the end of the 1984-85 season, signed a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday.

“It’s certainly not good news for us,” King General Manager Rogie Vachon said from Canada, where he is teaching at a hockey school in British Columbia.

Vachon said the Kings offered Ruskowski a one-year contract with a one-year option and a big raise, but Ruskowski, 31 next December, wanted a longer contract.

“Last year, he was on a termination contract. Because he had a good season, we offered him one year plus an option year and quite a bit more money than he was going to get with Pittsburgh,” Vachon said. “But I guess he decided to go for the extra security.

“I talked to his agent a couple of times this week and I called him last night, and he wasn’t quite sure which way he was going to go. I made it clear that we would like him to stay with us and he was still in our plans.”

Ruskowski was unavailable for comment Thursday.

The deal that Ruskowski signed with Pittsburgh is reportedly for two years plus an option year.

Ruskowski is coming off his best season. Moved from center to left wing, he scored 16 goals and had 33 assists in 78 games.