After officially joining the Rangers, Jarret Stoll's first course of action was to defend himself.
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Stoll, who agreed to a one-year, $800,000 contract with the Blueshirts on Monday, spoke publicly for the first time since pleading guilty to two misdemeanors that stemmed from an arrest for suspicion of cocaine and Ecstasy possession at a Las Vegas pool earlier this summer.
"I know what kind of person I am, I know what kind of hockey player I am," Stoll said in a conference call Monday after signing with the Rangers, according to Yahoo Sports. "People around me know what kind of person I am. For the outside world to think what they think, it really doesn't have an impact on myself or the way I play hockey. That's not who I am, that's not the person I was brought up to be and anybody important in my life knows that."
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Stoll also praised his girlfriend, sportscaster Erin Andrews, for being "awesome through this" and he added that, "it has been tough on her as well with everything that happened and her getting hit with some of the brunt too."
The "brunt" that Stoll is referring to is constant verbal attacks directed at Andrews on social media due to her boyfriend's actions.
Stoll was originally charged with a felony for possession of a controlled substance (cocaine), but after a plea deal, he pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of "provoking commission of breach of peace" and another count of trespass.
For his punishment, Stoll had to do 32 hours of community service in a 120-day span, and now the legal issues are behind him.
"Nothing there to worry about personally or professionally," Stoll said.
Stoll, 33, is a two-time Stanley Cup winner and he won both of those championships as a member of the Kings -- including his latest one in 2014 when Los Angeles ousted the Rangers in five games to win it all.
Stoll spent his last seven seasons with the Kings before hitting unrestricted free agency this summer. While his age and legal troubles make him a bit of a risky signing, the cap-strapped Rangers inked him to a team-friendly deal.
After a miserable start to the summer, Stoll praised the Kings organization for the handling of the situation and his meeting with general manager Dean Lombardi following his arrest.
"It had an impact on me for both reasons, I think personal and professional," Stoll said. "It was a great meeting. It was a tough meeting. I have a lot of respect for Dean Lombardi and the Kings organization. Dean brought me here seven years ago along with Matt Greene from Edmonton. Specifics are specifics and I don't want to get into them, but it was a great meeting. It was an emotional meeting and we've been through a lot together. I expected it to be a tough meeting. It was and we moved on after that."
Stoll played in 73 games last season for the Kings and notched six goals and 11 assists for 17 points. The center hasn't eclipsed 40 points since he put up 43 in the 2010-11 campaign.
The Rangers open up the 2015-16 slate with a meeting with the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks in Chicago on Oct. 7.
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