Four-year deal for Scuderi

I really can't argue with this at all. I'm quite happy to have Scuderi on the team, nice pick up. Now trade that means other D-men are expendable.

Well, I think we overpaid a little, but that can be offset by trading away salary to fill needs in the top 6 forwards.

I like the length of the contract, and like I said, I think we overpaid a little, but not too much.

Scuderi certainly cashed in on a hell of a playoff run.

Woot!

well like my grandad used to say, its better than a poke in the nose. I'm all right with it, I've only seen that guy play through the playoff games (thanks Versus) but he seems solid, dependable, reliable. Still really want to see a left wing, keep on swinging away Dean, so far, so good.

Well done Dean

I apologize for my previous rants Rich..

I don't even know where to put Johnson in the D pairings now.

Quincey/Doughty
Scuderi/Greene
Johnson/SOD
Drewiske

??

More to the point, where is TM likely to put him? TM likes solid no mistakes defense. I think he would order these guys, in terms of defensive responsibility, something like:

Quincey
Scuderi
Doughty
Greene
Drewiske
SOD
Johnson

maybe swap scuderi and quincey. but certainly johnson is on the bottom of that list.

Nice one! 3.4M is what they say at TSN.ca also btw.

3.4 million for this wimp?? DL, what are you thinking? I don't understand, DL could have had Hal Gil or Matt Walker for less than this outrageous contract! Thumbs down to this signing and it makes the blue line weaker than when the Goat was there...

I haven't heard a bad thing about Scuderi so I am pleased.

First post in months, I remember why I stopped coming to this site (after perusing through the earlier posts.)

Nice upgrade over Gauthier & he'll be the veteran leader once O'Donnell retires. Nice pickup!

it's never a bad idea to add a d-man with a stanley cup ring. maybe a little pricey, but still better than having gauthier back there.

Well he can keep the puck out of the net on both sides only one goal this season with 15 assists. Now lets get a forward that can put the puck in the net.

I like this signing. Hope we let him keep #4.

Over $3M for a 30yo who broke into the league three years ago? His one claim to fame is a single good playoff year. Not trying to knock him too hard, and he did do four years in college, but I'm not sold on this guy being a long term keeper for that kind of money.

I'm also not super familiar with him aside from the heroics in this year's playoffs, but I don't think he was on anyone's radar as a super desirable addition. Until the playoffs it was assumed PIT would quietly and affordably re-sign this guy, so it's not like the door was being knocked down with interest prior to that.

I don't want to see another Preissing, and this guy has a lot of similarities in terms of what he has shown and how quickly his stock has risen over a short period.

That damn PA connection again! ;)

No way he lasts past 2 years. He is 3/4/5 shut down D man. 3.4 mil is a lot for that range. He will bring back something at the trade deadline when we eventually dump him. Good signing. JJ stays with the Kings until the deadline and then depending on the progress of the young-uns, he becomes expendable. Quincey is expendable in my mind too, esp with Hickey gunning for his spot. Scuderi will keep Teubert's seat warm for 2 years.

I really watched him carefully in the Game 7 Cup clincher and I thought he was fantastic.

Also he fits DL's left shoot Dman that he couldn't get last year. I really hope he gets dealt within two years otherwise we have dead money on our hands

Good pick-up!!

With the lefty shot, he probably pairs w/ doughty. Should look something like this next season

Scuderi/Doughty
JJ/Greene
Quincey/OD
Drewiske

Stay at home w/ a puck mover. And probably some nights off for OD.

I love it when Anthonyy and his cast of clowns are quiet.

JJ needs to stay!

AK47:

-bow-

You have class.

Another small D-man. I'm seriously disappointed :( ...

Doughty plays like a small player

Scuderi is a small player

JJ is small

WTF DL??

Now let's move some D assets to get the forward that Deano covets via trade.

Someone on the HF boards mentioned this was 100K less than he made last season. Nice signing.

Kevin - not sure if 220 is small. It is those shorter, thicker guys that can put you on your ass.

Good signing.

But JJ is not expendable. He is still a cornerstone of our D-corps.

SOD - Doughty
JJ - Scuderi
Quincey - Greene

No need to rush Hickey, SOD is outta here at the deadline next season. He'll get his shot then. This is perfect...the development is on pace with no rushing the prospects, the current D-corps is experienced, and solid. JJ is healhty and he will prove his worth in spades this season.

Good work DL. Now on to the scoring issue...

Some defensive stats for scuderi

-Led the team averaging 2:58 minutes of ice time per contest while shorthanded and with 53 blocked shots in playoffs (league leader).
-Led the team with a plus-23 rating and 164 blocked shots (12th in league; Greene was 10th) during the regular season.
-Led the team averaging 3:47 of ice time per contest while shorthanded during the regular season. Pitt was 8th in PK%, just behind the Kings.

Kevin - not sure if 220 is small. It is those thick, six footers that can put you on your rear.

KevinWestgarth/Khanon81, relax buddy they all can't be 6'6! Scuderi looks about O'D's size, there are no monsters on D but they are all big enough to be effective.

Kings are talking to Alex Tanguay now according to Dave Spagnotta of thefourthperiod.com

http://twitter.com/TheFourthPeriod

-J:

Just to add--was usually on the ice against Ovechkin during that series... Did okay.

Too much, too long. This is the kind of signing that is salary cap unfriendly. It is also another 50/50 pick up by Dean. 1 goal/+23, shot blocker/not physical, good positioning/bad puck mover. He may be just a great guy and plays hard but wow totally unmovable at that price. I hope this is a precursor to a trade and we give less than we get. Because number six Dmen should not get 3+ for four.

Plan?? Right way?

Good signing! A no nonsense, no frills, but very dependable character blueliner with a ring on his finger. Of course he doesn't throw highlite reel hits or rush the puck so he'll have trouble winning fans. But all he did during the playoffs was lead the Stanley Cup champs in PK ice time and blocked shots. Not to mention he finished with more total ice time for the Pens than anyone not named Gonchar, Crosby or Malkin.

So what if he developed late? Sounds like a Boucher type situation. Scuderi, Beachimen or Seindenberg is exactly what this team needed.

Joke signing! So we get a 5/6 defenseman that i'm sure is an absolute perfect pick. When we could have spent 1.6 more and got an extremely talented first line winger that can win games himself! Not to mention younger!
Our GM is a laugh! Building youth he's absolutely masterful......but that's where it needs to stop! He has the wrong position with this franchise!

Looks like a good solid signing. Not sure why anyone would have a problem with this. IS exactly the type of guy Dean said they would look for this off-season and if things with JJ aren't working out right for the contract or he can help us get a scoring forward, then this helps the team do that i would think. I like JJ don't get me wrong, but add me to the list of people that has been more impressed with Quincey than Johnson so far. Would imagine with JJ's potential though he would get more in return in a trade also.

Heaters is next!

... Rob, score a goal once each of the next four years and you're the lucky million dollar scorer. Solid D-man looks like a good signing.

I think JJ and Scuderi will make a great pair. Scuderi will teach Jack how to play some positional D while still allowing him the flexibility to join the rush and become the dominant offensive force he is projected to be. Looks like there is only one spot for the young d-men to win this year out of camp. Who will it be? Hickey, Voynov, Tuebert, Martinzez?

The Kings defense should be set for years and it will have a lot of tradable assets. This was Dean's number one priority when he took over and he has done an awesome job putting it together. Fits perfectly with Dean's philosophy on building up on young defenseman just like good MLB teams do with pitching. http://www.insidesocal.com/kings/2009/02/lombardi-a-roll-of-the-dice.html#more

Scuderi provides the breathing room to let the guys in the minors develop one more year or break in if they are ready. Great move.

I hope it's not Tom Preissing 2.0. Didn't he have a good playoff performance (Ottawa) prior to the Kings signing him?

I would have rather see the Kings go after Beauchemin.

Westy, Drew plays small? No way. He may not be crushing guys but he didn't shy away from contact.

I like this pickup, and it certainly gives us more flexibility to trade some D for a forward.

Even if the salary is a bit high: hey, it's just AEG's money. We're nowhere near the cap so Scuderi's salary doesn't affect our team's performance at all.

Very Nice pickup. A bit more than what I wanted to spend for a D-man but the length of contract is good. He just won a cup, solid all around d-man, will absolutely compliment the blueline.

I think we are done in net (Barring how well Quick does this year), done on D- (With extra parts to spare), Williams & Kopi have to be 30+ goal scorers for us THIS YEAR with Fro to be contenders IF we do not pick up a winger. With this D with it's shutdown & offensive abilities, They could carry the slow offensive games for us &, with Quick, steal us some wins this year.

Again Dean...solid move! Nice Work!

Welcome to Los Angeles Scuds. I suggest that on your day with the cup this year, you set aside an hour or two to share it with your NEW teammates so they can have a taste of what it is like to be around it. I know I would appreciate that as a Kings fan. Congrats on the Cup win and your well deserved new contract.

Um, guys, 5/6 defenceman don't lead their team in ice time during the playoffs and average 19+ minutes during the regular season. And this on the stanley cup champs. LOL

Looks like another bridge player for DL.

1.This gives the Kings a little more veteren leadership on a young D core. (ODO was only player not born 1983 or later)

2.It also gives Hickey, Teubert, Voynov & Martinez another year to mature. As much as I'd love to see some of these guys play next year, I'd rather not rush them and waste a year of NHL eligibiity if they aren't ready.

3.This gives DL room to work trades (hopefully for a scoring winger) involving some of our D prospects and puts pressure on JJ. Or the writing could be on the wall for JJ... I don't know what JJ is asking for or what DL has offered, but whatever JJ signs for will set the bar for the rest of our young D core the following years. So, I can't blame DL playing hardball because Quincey is an RFA next year, and then Doughty, Hickey, Teubert, Voynov & Martinez are all RFA's the year after.

Nash & Columbus contract negotiations aren't going so well. Opportunity for the Kings? http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=283509

I'm a Leafs/Kings fan as you can see in my name so I have seen Scuderi a fair bit over the last few years. You guys are gonna LOVE him. Solid, reliable, will block a shot with his face if he has to and knows how to clear the puck out of the zone.

Greene and Scuderi are going to be unreal, this is a move that seems small in comparison with the other things that have gone on around the league but when you remember what types of players it takes to win, this is the deal of the free agency period.

Greene and Scuderi are guys that help you win championships. With Schenn and Komisarek, and Greene/Scuderi, the Leafs and Kings are setting themselves up well. Well done Dean and GO KINGS!!!!

Hey Leafy, are they going to take out seats to expand the penalty boxes back there? I'd love to see the first leafs/flyers game live.

Why didn't DL throw in an entra half million and sign Beachemin?? He would be a perfect fit, won a cup, physical, tough, fights, good skater, BIG, etc

The other point that is being lost in the conversation is that OD doesn't have many more years left, 2 at most I'd say. So we can assume that Scuderi will basically be the OD replacement once OD retires, which will open up a slot for another D prospect. Looks like Harrold or Drewiske will be the 7th defenseman. Manchester's D will be loaded next season with Hickey, Voynov, Martinez, Drewiske (if he's sent down), Piskula, and lets not forget Tom Preissing.

Captain Material- Scuderi first played in 03-04 abut really broke into the league in 05-06, so that's more like 4+ seasons, not 3.

Not sure about the comparison to Preissing as far as what he's shown, since for one thing, they are totally different types of players-

Preissing was never a defensive D- that great year he had in Ottawa, he blocked all of 52 shots in the entire regular season, 1 less than Scuderi did in the playoffs this year.

in their respecive UFA years, Preissing was a 5/6 D-man in Ottawa, not playing against the top guys, whereas Scuderi was a top 4 and used again other teams top players.

During their UFA year playoffs, in which both made the finals, Preissing was 6th in TOI for Ott's D, as opposed to Scuderi being 1st in TOI for Pitt's D.

Preissing never saw top time on Ott's Pk, where as Scuderi has led Pitt's D in PK time the last 3 playoff years and three times in the last 4 regular seasons.

So yeah, i too hope he doesn't fizzle like Preissing did, but that's an inherent risk with most FA signings. C'est la vie.

He's still not making as much as preissing.

This was a nice pick-up. Fantastic job, Dean.

$3.4m ain't all that bad, folks. He's a lot cheaper than Komisarek, and he's NO wimp, either.

No way Beachemin is signing for 4 mil unless to maybe a contender. Hes gonna be looking at 4.5-5.5 mil a year on at least a 4 year deal.

So we're willing to pay 3.4 million for Scuderi but cant pay 5.5 to 6.5 million for a top scorer?

I don't understand. Dean said that he WAS willing to spend the money on Hossa! He tried! He was willing to give him that 12-year contract. Hossa didn't want to come here, though. I'm sorry, but giving Gaborik a long-term deal could very easily come back to haunt us. It probably will, lets be honest. 5 years, 7.5 million dollars? He played what, 15 games last season? Havlat is just as prone to injury as Gaborik. Saying that we didn't sign the big names is one thing, but as far as Hossa goes, saying we weren't willing to is an entirely different matter. Don't mix them up.