Rob Scuderi Is All About Change

Rob Scuderi was last seen hoisting the Stanley Cup for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Then he attended the United States' Olympic orientation camp and now the defenseman is with his new team, the Los Angeles Kings, preparing for the new season.

There's a lot going on in the 30-year-old's life.

"When I knew I'd be making a change, it was a little nerve-racking," Scuderi told FanHouse by phone from Los Angeles. "But now, being here, the organization, management, players have made me feel so welcome and the transition easy. It was scarier to think about than it turned out to be."

Scuderi got acquainted with a few of his new teammates during Team USA's camp, and he knew Peter Harrold from Boston College. Still, it was strange leaving a team that drafted him, especially after back-to-back trips to the Finals. Scuderi said that his split with Pittsburgh wasn't at all bitter; there's enormous respect on both sides, but because of Pittsburgh's salary cap limitations, it was clear the time had come to move on.

"When it happens, it's kind of a shock," Scuderi said. "You win the Stanley Cup and three weeks later, you're somewhere different."

The free-agent experience "was a weird process, I'd never really been through it," said Scuderi, who signed for four years and $13.6 million. "I thought it would be maybe one offer at a time but the truth is it's two or three at a time and while you're thinking about one team, another defenseman takes their offer. It's kind of stressful.

"There were a couple of teams on my radar but in my opinion, as long as the money was about the same, that made it a hockey decision -- and I thought the Kings were one of the best teams who are turning things around."

Los Angeles is hoping that a blend of promising young players and an improved defense can end a seven-year playoff drought. Ryan Smyth, obtained from Colorado, should help boost the offense, while Scuderi adds veteran presence.

Can the Kings be this year's version of the Blues in the Western Conference? Scuderi calls the team's top six forwards very talented, he likes the Kings' role players and he thinks the defense is solid. He's also confident in the goaltending, particularly Jonathan Quick. What he's seen in the opening days of camp has only made Scuderi more of a believer.

He's enjoying the weather in Southern California, where it's been 80-85 degrees at the beach, but it will be strange for a Long Island native to adjust to the warm temperatures during the thick of the hockey season. Not that he'll really notice.

"When hockey starts, that's all I want to do," Scuderi said, "all I want to be a part of."

Though happily settling in to a new home, Scuderi always will have his title memories. He played a significant role in the Finals, making two sensational plays in Game 6 to stop Detroit's Johan Franzen in the late going of a one-goal Penguins victory. Then Scuderi got to have his day with the Cup, and he took it to the police station in Syosset, NY, where his dad, Bob, had worked, and to the school where his mother, Leslie, teaches.

"It's hard to put into words," Scuderi said of the Penguins' championship. "Everything came together and it was special to pull it off at the end -- really special."