This summer, Spencer Lazary and I will continue our series with more potential free agent targets that could be on the market on July 1st.
Today, we talk about 9-year vet Matt Grzelcyk.
Target: Matt Grzelcyk - D - Age: 31 - 9 Years Experience
After playing the first eight years of his career with the Boston Bruins, Grzelcyk signed a free-agent deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1, 2024. Grzelcyk played more minutes per game this season with the Pens than he ever played for Boston, and seemed to play a much bigger role in Pittsburgh.
Stats
This past season, he played in all 82 games for Pittsburgh and totaled 40 points, which consisted of one goal and 39 assists. Of his 40 points, 15 were power-play goals, and he had six game-winning goals. This was the best year of his career in terms of points. For his career, he's averaging 27 points per 82 games played.
Grzelcyk has played 66 playoff games in his career, and has 14 points.
Previous Salary
Grzelcyk signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins worth $2.75M per year back in 2024. Contract expert put his next deal at a 3-year, $3.8M per season.
Realistic Chances Of A Signing: Cold
Grzelcyk is the type of defenseman that Don Waddell would go after in free agency. However, Grzelcyk is a left-shot D-man, which could mean that he wouldn't be a good fit for the Jackets. The CBJ currently has Zach Werenski, Denton Mateychuk, Jake Christiansen, and possibly Jordan Harris and Ivan Provorov at LD.
So at this time, even though Grzelcyk would be a good depth D-man in most free agent periods for the Blue Jackets, I can't see Matt Grzelcyk signing in Columbus.
Let us know what you think below.
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