RALEIGH, N.C. -- Changing teams in midseason is tough, even
for a veteran such as Doug Weight.
The newest acquisition by the Carolina Hurricanes made his home
debut Friday night, his fourth game since arriving in a trade with
St. Louis. And Weight slowly is getting acclimated to a completely
different system.
"The hardest part of change is you're leaving your comfortable
surroundings," the center said before Carolina's 4-3 loss to
Pittsburgh. "I'm the type of person, it's going to take me a
little bit to get really comfortable. I want everybody to know I'm
very happy to be here, and I'm going to work hard."
Weight is a four-time All-Star and a member of the U.S. Olympic
team, and the deal that sent him to the Hurricanes surprised many
around the NHL. To make it happen, he first had to waive his
no-trade clause, and because he's an unrestricted free agent after
this season, he seemingly was the perfect addition for any team
with hopes of winning the Stanley Cup.
Somehow, that ended up being Carolina, which holds the best
record in the Eastern Conference.
"As a group of players, with the season that we've had, it
somewhat validates what we've done, adds a bit of legitimacy to
this team," defenseman Aaron Ward said. "When a player of his
stature comes in with a no-trade clause, he's usually looking to go
to one of the bigger teams, like the Rangers. So this isn't par for
the course."
Weight hasn't tallied a point so far as he learns what's
expected of him from coach Peter Laviolette. The Hurricanes play an
attacking style with plenty of forechecking, quite a change from
how Weight and his teammates played in St. Louis.
Of course, since the Blues have been at the bottom of the
Western Conference for most of the season, they really couldn't
afford all-out charges to the net.
"We weren't as deep," Weight said. "You're not playing with
as much skill, so you weren't making as many plays. That's a big
difference for me, because I haven't looked for a play all year.
But that's how I've played my career, so it'll be easy to get back
to that."
And some of the adjustment has to do with his personality.
"Every All-Star game I go to, I just want to get through the
game and not fall down," Weight said. "Other guys go into it and
want to be the MVP. I feel great when I'm comfortable. Change is
tough, that's why it's so great I came for these five games."
Carolina has one more game before the two-week Olympic break --
at home Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres -- and Weight expects to
be just one of the guys when everyone returns.
Good thing, too. He likely will need some advice on how to
navigate around Raleigh and the surrounding area.
"More than anything, when you go to a new team, it's just
trying to get a feel for the guys and find your niche on the
team," said center Kevyn Adams, who twice has been traded during
the season. "That's what's more important than X's and O's, it's
getting comfortable with the city. Things like knowing where the
rink is and where the grocery store is."
Weight hasn't had much of a chance to learn yet. When the trade
happened, the Hurricanes were in the midst of a four-game road
trip, and he also spent a couple of days earlier this week with his
family in St. Louis. They traveled with him back to Raleigh and
planned to watch his first game at the RBC Center as a member of
the home team.
"I'd just love to get a couple wins this weekend and go into
the break with a good feeling about our team," Weight said. "It
would be great to win here tonight, and that's about it -- get two
points, get it over with and look on to Sunday."