Conroy Is Exception to the Lockout Rule

Unlike many of his peers, NHL center Craig Conroy knows where he’ll be over the next couple of months even if there is a league lockout.

The Kings took care of that earlier this month when they signed the former Calgary Flame to a four-year deal worth $12.6 million.

Conroy cashed in early during the NHL’s labor battle, while such other free agents as Ziggy Palffy, Paul Kariya, Teemu Selanne and Pavol Demitra remain in limbo.

Conroy first realized his unique position near the start of the free-agency period when he spoke with former Flame linemate Jarome Iginla.

“He lives in Florida and there are quite a few hockey players there and he said that if you don’t get any calls, don’t worry,” said Conroy, 32, who had 47 points in 63 games last season and added six goals and 17 points in the Flames’ run to the Stanley Cup finals.

“But I said, ‘Actually, I’ve had a bunch.’ I think he was a little disappointed to hear that.”

The Kings didn’t hesitate going after Conroy.

“We felt that we had a real need at center and we obviously liked Craig’s game a lot,” said General Manager Dave Taylor. “He’s a good two-way centerman, who can provide some offense for us but also plays a very responsible defensive game.

“We looked at the possibility of a lockout, but we had a lot of payroll coming off.... We made what we thought was a very fair offer to Ziggy Palffy, and he did not sign either. We’ll continue to upgrade our forwards, but we felt signing Conroy was a priority.”

Leaving Calgary was difficult for Conroy, who felt a strong connection to a franchise that had failed to qualify for the playoffs for seven consecutive years before last season.

As a key special teams player and No. 1 center, Conroy played an important role in the Flames’ turnaround, but he knew his days were numbered shortly after the Stanley Cup finals.

“I had only one conversation with Darryl ... it wasn’t all, ‘I’m just going somewhere else’ from me,” Conroy said, referring to Calgary Coach Darryl Sutter. “They made it clear that I wasn’t in their plans anymore. So at that point, I knew that I had to go and do what is best for my family.”

After playing the last couple of seasons with Iginla, Conroy said that he would love to play on a line with Palffy. But that’s not the reason why he signed with the Kings.

“I remember how cool it was skating around before the game and looking at the stars in the stands,” said Conroy about his days as a young checking forward who scored the series-clinching goal for the St. Louis Blues in their four-game sweep over the Kings in the 1997 playoffs. “To me, that was kind of special.”