Penguins Bring Back Stay-At-Home Defenseman Rob Scuderi (4 years, $13.5 million)

[B][I][COLOR=#ff0000]Welcome back, Scuds!!!!

[/COLOR][/I][/B]Penguins Sign Defenseman Rob Scuderi
Friday, 07.05.2013 / 12:55 PM / News

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed defenseman Rob Scuderi to a four-year contract, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Ray Shero.


The deal runs through the 2016-17 campaign, and has an average annual value of $3.375 million.


Scuderi, 34, re-joins the Pittsburgh organization after spending the past four seasons with the Los Angeles Kings. The defensive-minded blueliner originally played five-plus seasons with the Penguins between 2003-09, helping the team to a Stanley Cup championship in 2009.


The 6-foot-1, 216-pound Scuderi appeared in all 48 regular-season games with Los Angeles in 2012-13, tallying one goal, 11 assists and 12 points. He led the team in both blocked shots (66) and shorthanded minutes (3:13) while averaging 21:47 minutes per contest. Scuderi collected three assists and led the Kings with a plus-9 rating in 18 games during the postseason.


Scuderi was an integral member of Los Angeles’ 2012 Stanley Cup championship squad, placing second on the team with 34 blocked shots and second among team blueliners with a plus-9 rating in 20 postseason games. In 38 combined postseason games over the previous two springs, Scuderi has been a plus or even player 33 times, giving him a cumulative plus-18 rating during that span.


A native of Syosset, N.Y., Scuderi suited up for 300 regular-season games during his first stint with Pittsburgh, registering three goals, 36 assists, 39 points and a plus-13 rating. His best year came in ’08-09 when he established career highs for assists (15), points (16) and rating (+23) in 81 regular-season contests. He added five points (1G-4A) and a plus-5 rating in 24 playoff games that year as Pittsburgh won the franchise’s third Cup.


Originally drafted by the Penguins in the fifth round (134th overall) of the 1998 NHL Draft, Scuderi is one of the most-durable defensemen in the NHL, having appeared in 515 of a possible 540 regular-season games (95%) since breaking into the league as a full-time player in ’06-07.


Scuderi enters the upcoming season having appeared in 264-consecutive regular-season games dating back to Dec. 7, 2009. He has played in every game each of the last three years, and has played 71-plus games in each of his seven full NHL seasons.


During his four-year run with the Kings, Scuderi contributed 47 points (4G-43A) and a plus-4 rating in 285 regular-season games. He finished first or second on the team in blocked shots all four years. Scuderi added six assists and a plus-13 rating in 50 postseason contests.


In eight-plus NHL seasons with Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, Scuderi has suited up for 585 career regular-season games, totaling 86 points (7G-79A) and a plus-17 rating. He has 14 points (1G-13A) and a plus-22 rating in 99 career postseason contests.


Scuderi spent four-plus seasons playing for the Penguins’ top minor-league affiliate, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL), from 2001-06, helping the Penguins reach the Calder Cup Final in 2004.


Before turning pro, Scuderi played four seasons of collegiate hockey at Boston College between 1997-2001, leading the Eagles to a NCAA National Championship in 2001. During his college career, Scuderi played in four Frozen Fours, was a member of the 2001 NCAA All-Tournament Team and was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team in ’97-98.

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Not sure if he's the same player, but I was sad when he left and thought he was possibly one of the most important cogs in winning our last Cup. Hope he's still playing at that same level or better. We could use him in the playoffs.

[QUOTE=flippy;565627]Not sure if he's the same player, but I was sad when he left and thought he was possibly one of the most important cogs in winning our last Cup. Hope he's still playing at that same level or better. We could use him in the playoffs.[/QUOTE] Man, we could have used my 11 year old nephew in the playoffs. I was just talking today with someone about how it seems like we were outcoached in the Bruins series. Can there be any other explanation?

[QUOTE=Discipline of Steel;565633]Man, we could have used my 11 year old nephew in the playoffs. I was just talking today with someone about how it seems like we were outcoached in the Bruins series. Can there be any other explanation?[/QUOTE]

I thought all their sticks were twice as long as ours. And the posts in the goal they were defending were twice as big. I thought the series was well played on both sides and it really was a series of inches and luck.

I actually thought we were more outplayed in our first playoff series and were fortunate to get to Boston. Both Boston and Pittsburgh should have been out of the first round.