Marcus Kruger gives Hurricanes extra Stanley Cup experience

When forward Marcus Kruger was acquired by the Carolina Hurricanes in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, he became the fourth Stanley Cup-winning player added this offseason.

Kruger, forward Justin Williams, defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk and goalie Scott Darling have won the Stanley Cup a combined seven times. Carolina also hired Mike Bales, who won the Cup the past two seasons as goalie coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
One of the youngest NHL teams last season now has some championship pedigree, and Kruger said Wednesday he is happy to be part of it.
RELATED: [Kruger traded to Hurricanes by Golden Knights | NHL Trade Tracker\]
"I'm probably one of the older guys now, and that's different," the 27-year-old said. "… I'm going to try to come in and be myself and help out any way I can to help the team be as successful as I can. That's my mindset, and we'll see how it all plays out."
Kruger, traded to Vegas by the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, won the Stanley Cup with Chicago in 2013 and 2015, along with Darling and van Riemsdyk.
Darling was acquired in a trade with the Blackhawks on April 28, and van Riemsdyk in a trade with the Golden Knights on June 22 after he was selected in the NHL Expansion Draft. Williams, a free agent who won the Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006 and with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014, agreed to terms on a two-year contract Saturday after playing last season with the Washington Capitals.
"I don't think you can ever have enough guys in your room with playoff experience, and more importantly playoff success," Carolina general manager Ron Francis said. "That's seven Stanley Cups with those four guys alone coming into our locker room. We have a very young team and they're trying to find their way. We think the guys we picked up this summer not only are very good hockey players but very good people and proven winners."

The Hurricanes' average age last season was 26.8, sixth-youngest in the NHL according to Hockey-reference.com. They'll have seven key players 23 or younger when this season begins: forwards Sebastian Aho (20), Teuvo Teravainen (23), Brock McGinn (23) and Elias Lindholm (23), and defensemen Noah Hanifin (21), Brett Pesce (23) and Jaccob Slavin (23).
Francis said he'd also like to sign 18-year-old center Martin Necas, the No. 12 pick of the 2017 NHL Draft, to an entry-level contract and give him a chance to make the team.
Kruger said he's ready to take a leadership role if needed.
"You always want to do as much as you can to help the team out," he said. "I want to take a step and get better and better. I'm going to go there and do my best and take the opportunity that's given. We'll see how it plays out, but I'm going to do my best every day."
Kruger was used mostly in a defensive role during seven seasons with the Blackhawks. His best offensive output was 28 points (eight goals, 20 assists) in 81 games in 2013-14. He had 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 70 games last season.
"Marcus has always been a guy that comes to the rink every day, and when he's on the ice or off the ice he's giving 100 percent," Francis said. "And in games, he does the same thing."