Kings add 'Scud'eri missile to defense; re-sign Westgarth

July 3, 2:05 PMLos Angeles Kings ExaminerJonathan Moncrief

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Big Kevin Westgarth rejoined the Kings on Thursday

The Los Angeles Kings added another talented player to a strength of their team by signing free agent defenseman Rob Scuderi to a four-year, $13.6 million contract on Thursday. The club also announced that it had re-signed forward Kevin Westgarth to a three-year contract.

Scuderi helped the Pittsburgh Penguins reach back-to-back Stanley Cup finals the past two seasons, and the 30-year old native of Syosset, New York, helped the Penguins capture the Stanley Cup in June with his outstanding defensive play. He made two huge defensive plays late in Game Six of the finals, stopping Detroit’s Johan Franzen from scoring on point-blank and empty-net opportunities.

During the regular season, Scuderi's fifth with the Pens, the former Boston College star played in 81 games, scored a goal and added 15 assists, and was a +23 while averaging 19 minutes of ice time per game and only being penalized 18 minutes all year.

“He does a really great job reading defensive situations and recognizing things happening down low near his own net,” Kings assistant general manager Ron Hextall stated yesterday about Scuderi. “He also will likely play against the other team’s top line, which he did for Pittsburgh during the playoffs, and he’ll bring a great sense of veteran leadership to our defensive corps.”

“He is one of the top shut down defensemen in the league,” said Rob Laird, pro scout for the Kings. “This year he was a key member of their team (Pittsburgh), and he’s very sound from a positional standpoint.”

As for Westgarth, he rejoins the Kings after playing in nine games this past season. He also played in 65 games with the Kings AHL affiliate in Manchester, and led the club in penalty minutes with 165, to go along with four goals and six assists. Westgarth figures to have an opportunity to make the club this season as a potential fourth line replacement for Derek Armstrong, who is an unrestricted free agent and doesn’t figure to be part of the Kings plans this coming season.

Financial terms of Westgarth’s deal were not disclosed, but last season his salary was $560,000 according to NHLNumbers.com.

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The Kings will be hosting a three-day developmental camp next weekend at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo. The sessions will feature all of the players selected by the club in last weekend’s NHL Draft, including first round selection Brayden Schenn. Many other top prospects, including Colten Teubert, the second of last year’s two first picks (Drew Doughty being the other), will take part.

The schedule for the three days features a one hour game, sandwiched by two 45-minute practice sessions. These sessions are open to the general public. The first practice session on Friday and Saturday begin at 8:30am, with game scheduled for 9:30 and second practice session schedule for 10:45. On Sunday, the first practice will be at 11:30am, with the game taking place at 12:30, and the last practice at 1:45pm.