May 29, 2012, Stanley Cup Final Media Day Notebook for Metro Newspaper in NYC
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ED BETZ/AP
Former Flyers Jeff Carter, pictured, and Mike Richards are reunited on the Kings.
Jeff Carter and Mike Richards were shaken to their cores on June 24, 2011.
Three hundred and thirty-nine days after Philadelphia Flyers general
manager Paul Holmgren banished them following a second-round series
sweep to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins, Carter and
Richards were surrounded by reporters at Stanley Cup Media Day.
It has been a bizarre, circuitous route to the pinnacle of their profession for the inseparable friends.
“It was obviously a tough go — something that Mike and I didn’t expect —
being traded from Philly,” Carter said. “I’m excited with the way
things have worked out.”
Carter was shipped to Columbus for Jakub Voracek and two draft picks
while Richards was traded to the Kings for Brayden Schenn, Wayne
Simmonds and a second-round draft pick.
Long regarded as one of the NHL’s best two-way players, Richards had a
solid first season with the Kings, finishing with 18 goals and 44
points, along with a plus-three rating in 74 regular season games.
But Carter was not nearly as successful in the barren outpost of
Columbus. Carter, among the league’s pre-eminent snipers, recorded only
25 points in 39 games before being traded to the Kings on Feb. 23 for
Jack Johnson and a draft pick.
Carter scored nine points in his 16 regular season games with L.A., and has added another nine in the playoffs.
“It was exciting. I knew I was coming to a great team that had a chance
to play in the playoffs,” Carter said of the trade to the Kings. He
added that Columbus general manager Scott Howson informed him about the
trade to L.A. “As a player, that’s what you want.”
Oh captain, my American captain
An American captain will win the Cup for the second time in NHL history.
That much is known. What is unknown is whether it will be Zach Parise
or Dustin Brown who accepts the Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
The teammates on the 2002-03 and 2003-04 U.S. World Junior Championship
squads and the 2010 Olympic silver-medal winning team now find
themselves facing off.
“With him it’s a lot of fun; he’s a special player,” Brown said during
his media availability Tuesday afternoon. “Playing against him is not
the [most fun]. The one thing I say about Zach is that you’re not going
to find a more-skilled guy who competes harder. He has first-line skill
and a fourth-line mentality and work ethic. He probably works harder
than any high-end skill guy that I’ve seen.”
The first American captain to win the Cup was Derian Hatcher with the Dallas Stars in 1998-99.
Follow NHL beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman for all the news from the Stanley Cup finals.
Follow NHL beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman for all the news from the Stanley Cup finals.
http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/1144283--stanley-cup-notebook-former-flyers-american-captains
posted by Denis P. Gorman at 9:59 PM
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