Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the Pittsburgh Penguins have signed free agent defenseman Matt Grzelcyk to a one-year, $2.75MM contract. Additionally, agent Dan Milstein reports his client Mac Hollowell has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Penguins which will pay $775K at the NHL level and $250K in the AHL. They’ve also re-upped defenseman Ryan Shea to a one-year, league-minimum contract, per a team announcement.
A few years ago, Grzelcyk was a key piece on Boston’s back end. However, the 30-year-old saw his ice time dip below the 18-minute mark for the last two seasons. To make matters worse, after being a consistent secondary contributor who had put up at least 20 points in four straight years, Grzelcyk was limited to just two goals and nine assists in 63 games last season, leading to some time as a healthy scratch.
That said, he’s still an intriguing pickup for the Penguins as someone who should start on their third pairing but could move up to the top four when injuries arise. On a one-year term, it’s also a relatively low-risk contract compared to some of the pricier multi-year contracts handed out throughout the day.
Hollowell is coming off his best professional season. The 25-year-old joined the Rangers as a Group Six free agent last summer and had a productive campaign with AHL Hartford, tallying 44 points in 64 games. However, that wasn’t enough to get him a recall to New York. A Group Six free agent once again this year, he has opted to sign for a GM who has plenty of familiarity with his game as he previously was in Toronto’s system under then-GM Kyle Dubas.
As for Shea, the decision to sign with Pittsburgh last summer was a fruitful one. The 27-year-old got his first taste of NHL action, playing in 31 NHL games where he had his first career NHL goal while logging more than 12 minutes a night. Shea also got into 23 games with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, picking up six points. He’ll likely be in a similar role this season as one of the first recalls when injuries strike on the back end.
Dubas bringing in old Leafs. He’s getting Lanny McDonald to play with Mallon
@goalieguy41 — At least Lanny will probably get an NMC now. :)
Malkin.
Why? Not at all what we need.
At first I was going to complain about the Pens not doing anything, but given the prices out there I honestly can’t blame them. So much term and AAV flying around.
But then they sign Grzelcyk. 2.75 isn’t horrible, especially for only 1 year, but who’s he replacing? I’d rather give St Ivany and Ludvig some run. Now if signing him means they found someone dumb enough to trade for Graves…..
Amen
Add Shea to the mix as well
Matt Grzelcyk is a good player when he’s healthy, that’s a reasonable low-risk deal.
Wouldn’t mind Skinner on a 1 year $2 million or less type deal.
Now that Smith is gone it makes sense