Starkey: Pens' Adams having a ball
RALEIGH, N.C. — Penguins general manager Ray Shero and his assistants knew Craig Adams could still play.
They liked his experience and loved the fact that he owns a Stanley Cup ring.
But they also knew Adams was in the final year of his contract and carried no financial risk, so they figured another contending team would snatch him off the March 4 waiver wire before they did.
Nonetheless, the Penguins put in a claim on Adams, a soon-to-be 32-year-old forward who had been nudged out of the Chicago Blackhawks' lineup.
To their surprise, Adams slipped through.
Adams was surprised, too, and not necessarily in a good way.
"My first thought was, 'Oh my God, we're supposed to have a baby in six weeks, and this is going to be a logistical nightmare,' " he said Saturday night at the RBC Center, after his first career two-point playoff game. "But when I thought about it for a second, I realized it could be a good opportunity."
The logistics worked out fine. Francesca Adams will be three weeks old Tuesday and is settled in Pittsburgh with her mother, Anne, plus Anne's mother and Francesca's 2-year-old brother, Rhys, who has become a regular at Penguins practice.
Daddy's still in Raleigh, on a business trip that could end with a Penguins' sweep of his old team, the Carolina Hurricanes, and a return visit to the Stanley Cup final.
Adams admits this series carries extra emotion, given that he spent six-plus years with Carolina. He was the last player drafted by the Hartford Whalers — ninth round, 223rd overall in 1996 — before the franchise moved to North Carolina. He won a Stanley Cup with the 'Canes in 2006 and reached the final in 2002, losing to the Detroit Red Wings.
"I still have my house, if anybody wants to buy a house in Raleigh," Adams said. "You guys can put that out there."
Consider it done.
And consider this: Adams has become the kind of role player every Stanley Cup contender needs. He hits, kills penalties, plays solid defense and even contributes the occasional goal, like the one he scored in Game 7 against the Washington Capitals to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead.
"He gives us momentum," defenseman Mark Eaton said.
That is precisely what Shero was looking for when he made the waiver claim.
"I talked about Craig on 'Hockey Night in Canada' before the game, because I think he's done a fantastic job," Shero said Saturday, after the Penguins' 6-2 victory. "He has provided everything we were looking for and more. I like his speed, his grit, his defensive game, his hitting. This guy is so courageous. He plays the game the right way."
Adams has become a fixture on a penalty kill that has not allowed more than one goal in any of the team's 16 playoff games. His average short-handed time per game (2:34) is topped within the team only by defenseman Rob Scuderi and fellow forward Jordan Staal.
Adams enjoys the kind of niche that Penguins coach Dan Bylsma filled during his NHL career.
"It's about putting guys in a position where they can be successful," Adams said. "Dan has done that, and I'm certainly not taking it for granted. I'm enjoying every game and savoring the experience."
The Penguins' fourth line has become an unexpected weapon after being a liability — or, at best, a neutral force — for much of the season, manned largely by not-yet-ready minor leaguers.
Adams and fellow NHL vet Miroslav Satan often find themselves skating with either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, who have combined for 54 playoff points and are double-shifted as the Penguins continue to use seven defensemen and 11 forwards.
Adams outdid the team's stars on at least one play Saturday, scoring directly off a faceoff from inside his blue line with 1:38 remaining. Carolina's net was empty, so Adams told Scuderi he would try to whack the faceoff all the way down the ice.
"Rob said, 'Why don't you go ahead with it?' so give him a verbal assist," Adams joked. "The difference between going for it and it happening is one in a million. It was pretty lucky."
So were the Penguins when Adams slipped through waivers.
