Gagne talks about joining Kings

Simon Gagne, attending a family function somewhere in rural Quebec, took a few minutes to talk about joining the Kings today with a two-year, $7-million contract…

Question: Why did you decide on the Kings? Was having Mike Richards, your former linemate, here a factor in your choice?

GAGNE: “First of all, I’m very excited to be a King now. It was a couple things. Yesterday, we were talking to some teams and L.A. was one of the teams that called up really early Friday, and let us know that I was at the top of their list. At the same time, they were honest with us that they were waiting to see what was going to happen with Brad Richards. At the same time, on our side we were looking at some other things with other teams. Then, this morning when Richards signed, they came back and I had a chance to talk with Mike Richards and, actually, Justin Williams too, yesterday. So I’ve got a couple buddies there, and everybody knows that I played with Mike Richards in Philly and had a lot of success too. There were a lot of Kings, Murph [Terry Murray], the coaching staff in Philly, John Stevens, Ron Hextall, Mr. Lombardi was in Philly too. It’s almost like Philadelphia on the West Coast. It was definitely a place where I know they were looking to get me. Even last year, when I was ready to move my no-trade clause, that was one of the teams that was really pushing to get me, so I know that it was a great fit for me.”

Question: You’ve had some injury issues — last season with the neck — so how is your health right now?

GAGNE: “Really good. Unfortunately, with what happened last season, I got hurt with the neck and it was something that hard to play with when I came back, but I got better, I got stronger. I was able to get better treatment. It’s stuff that you learn, what you have to do to feel better on the ice, and I was able to feel really good for the last push of the season. If you look at what I did at the end of the season, I was healthy, I was feeling good, my legs were feeling really good and my game shape was 100 percent. That’s why I was able to finish strong and have some good playoff (games) with Tampa Bay at the end of the season. So my health is very good right now. I’m really excited. I’ve got the whole summer to recover from the playoffs, from the long run with Tampa Bay, and get ready for training camp when it’s going to open in September in L.A.”

Question: Did you try to get a deal done to go back to Tampa Bay?

GAGNE: “To be honest, my priority was to get a deal done with Tampa Bay before July 1. We had some talks with them, a couple days before July 1, but nothing really ended up like we wanted to, on both sides. At the end, even today, we didn’t hear nothing from them, so we guessed that they were out of the picture at that time and we were working with other teams. It ended up with the choice we wanted to go with, with the Kings, in the end. So, like I said, I did enjoy my time in Tampa Bay and I had a lot of friends there, but it was time to do a change at that time.”

Question: You talked about yesterday. A lot of players got signed and a lot of money got spent. Were you nervous at all, waiting another day, or were you confident it would work out?

GAGNE: “A little bit. At the end of the day, when everything is done and you’re not signed, sure, you’re ready to be signed on the first day but on the other side we were confident that we would wait for the right moment, wait for the right fit for me and my family. We had some offers early on yesterday, but nothing like we wanted to look for. That’s why we were patient. We knew a lot of teams were looking to sign (Brad) Richards. A lot of teams were interested to sign me, but all of those teams were looking to see what Richards was going to do. So we knew that we had another options, so we took a chance to wait and see what was going to happen today. We knew we had some teams that we talked to last night that were really good. We had some good offers on the table, so that’s why we were able to be a little more patient and get a deal done with L.A. when it was a good time.”

Question: You talked about your connections, and you played under both Terry Murray and John Stevens. What are your memories of that, and what do you think about playing under those guys again?

GAGNE: “I’m very excited. I had some great seasons with those two coaches. Murph actually was more in charge of the defensemen when I was in Philly, but John was the head coach for two years. It was good. When you change teams, and stuff like that, sometimes you need to adjust to the coach. I feel that I know those guys already. Like I said, I was joking that it was almost the Flyers on the West Coast now. All those guys were with the Flyers before, and I was part of the same team and I had some great moments with those guys. I’m really excited to be able to work with those guys again for the next two years.”

Question: I know it varies a lot, but how much time did you spend on the same line with Mike Richards? A significant amount?

GAGNE: “Three years, at least three years. When Mike came into the league, I was playing more with Peter Forsberg. We all know Forsberg was playing maybe 60, 50 games a year, so the other 30 games, Mike — as a rookie — was my centerman for those games. I played with him at least five years, but on the same line at least two or three years.”

Question: You mentioned talking with Mike Richards and Justin Williams. Can you share anything you guys talked about?

GAGNE: “I’m really good friends with Justin. We kept in touch when he got traded to Carolina. We came into the league almost at the same time, same age, so we’re really close together, really tight. So we kind of kept in touch last year, all year long. He texted me yesterday that L.A. could be a good fit, that they were looking for a left winger, and he was kind of pushing for me to sign in L.A. So it’s always fun to do stuff like that. Today, I had a chance to talk to Mike Richards this morning, and it was the same thing on his side. He said, `You know, we could play again on the same line and do all the good stuff we did in Philly in the past.’ I kind of got excited a little bit at that time, and I know that my agent and the Kings were talking at the same time. So I was very excited when I got the phone call from my agent that we got a deal. They got the fax and I signed it and it was done. I was very excited about that, and those two guys definitely helped me to make a decision to come to L.A.”

Question: How much attention did you pay to L.A. in the past, and looking at them now, how far away do you think they are from a deep playoff run?

GAGNE: “Well, if you look at the last two years, they’re a really good team. They’re a young team, but at the same time those guys play like veterans already. If you look at the teams that have won Stanley Cups, it’s not like it used to be 10 years now. Now, it doesn’t matter if you’re 21 years old. Those guys play like superstars already. You look at Chicago and Pittsburgh, when they won Cups they were really young teams. So you don’t have to look, anymore, for just a team with veterans. You can look at teams that are young but already good, and they might need help from veterans a little bit, in having guys like myself and Mike Richards, to get to the next level. You look at last year in the playoffs. They played a really good team in San Jose, and they got really close to beating them. It was good experience for those young guys. My priority was to sign with a team that is going to be able to go to the playoffs. I know, with my experience, that it doesn’t matter whether you’re starting in first place or you end up eighth, everybody has the same chance at that time. I know that the Kings are going to be a team to put themselves in a playoff spot, and from that point on, you never know what can happen. I believe that the Kings are just getting better and better every year, and those young guys are just getting better and better too. So that’s why, when I had some choices between teams, that the Kings were at the top of the list, because they’re a team where I know good stuff is going to happen for the next two years.”