Much of the talk today, naturally, was about the arrival of two rookie forwards, but it was also a notable day for one of the Kings’ veterans. Trent Hunter returned to Nassau Coliseum, his home for the previous eight-plus seasons as a member of the New York Islanders. Hunter was drafted by Anaheim in 1998 and traded to the Islanders two years later, and made his debut during the 2001-02 playoffs. Hunter was a two-time 20-goal scorer, but suffered a torn MCL last season and was limited to 17 games. Then, on July 28, the Islanders traded him to New Jersey, and the Devils placed him on waivers and bought out his contract four days later. The Kings invited Hunter to training camp last September, then signed him to a one-year contract. In 496 career NHL games, Hunter has 101 goals and 135 assists, and after practice today, he shared thoughts about returning to Long Island.
HUNTER: “Eight years, but in the organization my entire career, so I came and went in this building quite a few times.’’
Question: Looks pretty much the same, probably…
HUNTER: “A little bit of new paint here and there. A lot of character. [smiles]’’
Question: Obviously you were hurt last season and the Islanders made the decision to to cut ties. Were you able to get past that relatively quickly?
HUNTER: “It is a business. It’s obviously tough, because I was here a long time, and especially last year, with not playing much. It was tough. When you’re hurt, you’re around the guys and around the team, but you’re not really. You’re kind of on the outside looking in. Last year was definitely a tough year for me, but like I said, it’s a business and everything happens for a reason.’’
maybe he knows where the net is in this building…
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variable Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 6:05 pm
@kab,
maybe…just maybe…
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Brown23 Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 6:14 pm
@kab, maybe Hunter does know where the net is, without a compass either.
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Press Box Scratch Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 8:55 am
@Brown23, This is the kind of season where clearly we need a few positive surprises … Trent Hunter scoring twice on his return to Long Island would qualify. Somebody … Anybody … please step up.
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here’s hunter’s chance to show the wangers what they’ve been missing…
okay…okay…
maybe a better idea is for hunter tomorrow to show us what’s been missing from his game – scoring timely goals…
in case you missed it, here a thread to sound-off on…
thanks…:
http://deepinsidethekings.com/2012/02/realistically-what-can-the-kings-do-to-get-more-offense-after-55-games/
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Hope so, well last year I had high hopes after 23 years of rooting and when that fell apart, I said ok this year try again, and now after Slava is gone, and the Kings keep getting, and paying for hurt, no one else wants players, who cannot score, at the end of the stick here almost, feeling very sad.
Oh well another day to hold up hope for tomorrow we will see as old coach gone, Slava gone, Simmons gone, Handzus gone, and Kings cannot score goals, will try to keep the faith a bit longer, but for Pete’s Sake cannot someone get this team going? Thanks and Good luck Kings tomorrow
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is he even going to be in the lineup tomorrow? If so, hope this fires him up and he scores a goal,…heck, maybe two!!
There i go with the crazy talk again
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While Hunter hasn’t scored as much as I would of like, I really don’t think he has played that bad. He is one of a few guys that shoots the puck at the net, while others keep passing it around like a hot potato. Unfortunately it just isn’t going in for him, which can be said the same for others.
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Steve C Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 8:40 pm
@Jeff_R, I think Trent (my favorite player) does a lot of little things well such as passing to set up scoring chances and hitting opponents. I think the biggest problem for him is that despite woeful production from Loktionov, Lewis and Richardson, Hunter has been relagated to the 4th line, where he often gets under 10 minutes a game. That’s with Lokti, Lewis and Richardson either scoring less than or equal to Hunter’s production since Sutter took over despite their ice time of more than 10 minutes a game. Hopefully he plays tomorrow and scores a point or two.
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Another “great” acquisition by Lombardi. What, exactly, does this guy bring to the table? Still waiting to see it.
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Jeff_R Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 8:37 pm
@Jeff, He and Etahn Moreau was brought in for veteran presence and some secondary scoring. It would have worked if it wasn’t for the scoring meltdown that has pretty much engulfed the entire team, given a few exceptions.
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OldKingsFan Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 1:55 am
@Jeff, his appetite. Oh at the last potluck he brought macaroni and cheese.
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Ryan Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 7:54 am
@Jeff,
What doesn’t he bring for cheap? He finishes checks… He is a big body and can contain the puck in the offensive zone. Give the guy more than 10+ minutes a game and things can happen. I’d rather have Hunter on the ice than “Flip shot” richardson or Lewis “lose the puck on a rush”. Those two guys are a waste of space.
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I think our new theme song should be….
A Wing and a Prayer…
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I always forget about his injury. Reminds me of when Handzus first came to the Kings and everyone was upset because he didn’t produce. Then the next he became the player he always had been. If only Hunter would do the same but within the next week or so.
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InfiN8 Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 9:14 pm
@Christian T, It takes a calender year for repaired tendons to get back to 100%. Handzus, Selanne, Parise all bounced back in a big way after they completely healed…
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Is this the big announcment the NHL was supposed to make today?
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alex101 Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 11:02 pm
@408kingsfan, It was about the winter classic being between the Wings and the Maple Leafs next year.. Yeah, couldn’t care less either.
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This is perfect. We can drop Trent off at home on our way to Dallas…
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Shane Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 9:24 pm
@JZarris, Beat me to it. NYI left him on the curb for the trash so let’s do the same. Yet another beauty of a signing by DL.
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I just had a thought, how is Hunter better then Frolov. I know salary cap, but still.
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Gustavo Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 7:08 am
@Quiet You,
He isn’t.
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JZarris Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 8:22 am
@Quiet You, Well, Hunter at least has the desire to compete against the best competition in the world rather than floating in the KHL. You have to give him credit for that…
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