The Montreal Canadiens signed 25-year-old forward Michael Pezzetta to a two-year contract extension worth $1.625 million.
Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes locked up a favorite of Habs' fans for the next two years. The team announced that they had signed forward Michael Pezzetta to a two-year contract extension with an average annual value of $812,500.
In 2022-23, Pezzetta scored seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 63 games, setting personal career highs in each category. The 25-year-old forward led the Canadiens with 239 hits and was third in penalty minutes with 77.
Early in the season, Pezzetta struggled to get into the lineup of head coach Marty St. Louis. Once team injuries started to mount, the scrappy forward solidified his position on the fourth line averaging 9:19 in ice time per game.
"I think towards the middle to second half (of the season), I found my groove," Pezzetta said. "Just getting in the lineup every night and feeling comfortable, being able to wake up and know 'hey, it's game day and I'm in the lineup and I'm ready to go' as opposed to not knowing what was going on until game time or after morning skate, for me, that just put me in a good place mentally and I felt that I had found my game."
With nine fighting majors on his resume for the 2022-23 season, Pezzetta was known as a player who consistently stepped in to stand up for a teammate. But that attitude also extended off ice to being a good guy in the dressing room.
"I think it's who I am. I'm always somebody who wants to give a helping hand whenever I can and keep things light, whether that's in the room, crack jokes, and just be easy to be around," Pezzetta said. "When it comes to playing, I'm someone who's going to put 110 percent in every single game and work as hard as I can to lead by example. I hope the guys see me working hard and doing the little things right, and it pushes them to do the same thing and I think I just focus on that, and the other things fall into place."
After spending a little more than three seasons in the AHL, it wasn't always easy to keep his goal in sight but is happy that his hard work and perseverance has paid off.
"There were times where it was a lot harder to see the light at the end of the tunnel and I was putting in a lot of work and believing in myself," admitted Pezzetta. "Maybe on the outside it didn't really seem like things were going to work out. So, I think it was just waiting for that opportunity, and I got it two seasons ago now, took advantage of that, and once I got my foot in the door, I didn't let off the gas. So, in my head, I always knew I was ready for those opportunities, and I needed a chance to take advantage of them."
"To stay in Montreal... I love it here," beamed Pezzetta. "Honestly, every day you get to play at the Bell Centre, it's something special. There's so much history and fans are just wild. It's such a loud and fun atmosphere to be a part of that you want to stick around in this atmosphere for as long as you can and I'm really glad I get to come back for another two seasons."