NHL free agency: Penguins bring back Rob Scuderi

The Pittsburgh Penguins felt they needed to bulk up their defense, and they’ve turned to an old friend to do it.

The Penguins and defenseman Rob Scuderi agreed to a four-year contract on Friday, the club announced. Scuderi agreed to a 4-year, $13.5 million contract, that carries an annual average value of $3.375 million against the salary cap.

Scuderi is known as a classic stay-at-home defenseman, and a winner of two Stanley Cups, one with the Penguins in 2009. He spent the last four seasons in Los Angeles, but is returning to Pittsburgh as the Penguins have clearlydecided their defensive play in the last post-season wasn’t good enough.

The Penguins drafted Scuderi 134th overall in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, before he was headed to attend Boston College. He first appeared in the NHL for a cup of coffee in 2003-04, and finally made the roster full time in 2006-07. He was just in time to join a Penguin team that was headed for greatness, going to the Stanley Cup Final in 2008, and winning it in 2009.

Scuderi cashed in after that 2008-09 season, signing a 4-year, $13.6 million deal with the Los Angeles Kings. He won his second Stanley Cup in Los Angeles in 2012. Now, it appears the 34-year-old from Bethpage, New York wants to come back to his first NHL club to try and win a third.