Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk said that he's been thinking over the last few weeks about how it was "meant to be" that he'd one day end up a Penguin.
Grzelcyk, who signed a one-year contract worth $2.75 million with the Penguins on the opening day of free agency, had a lot of key moments early in his career in or against Pittsburgh. He heard his name called by the Bruins in the third round of the 2012 NHL Draft held at PPG Paints Arena. After spending the next four years at Boston University, he made his NHL debut in Pittsburgh in the 2016-17 season. The following year was his first in which he was primarily playing in the NHL, and his first NHL goal came against the Penguins in Boston:
"It's a full-circle moment," Grzelcyk said Thursday afternoon in a virtual media availability. "Those are a lot of good memories for me, and something that I look back on. Those were just some great times, and I'm happy that I get to go back there."
Grzelcyk, 30, will be playing his ninth professional season this year after spending the first eight years of his professional career with the Bruins. He'll have a new home for the first time in his career ... albeit with a pretty big familiar face joining him.
Grzelcyk played at Boston University from 2012-16, where new Penguins assistant coach David Quinn was his head coach for his final three seasons as a Terrier. Over the years, despite the two carving out roles with different NHL organizations, Grzelcyk has kept in touch with his former coach. He's pretty happy to have the opportunity again to work with Quinn, who will be managing the defense and the power play after being hired this summer.
"We've kept in touch ever since I moved on from college," Grzelcyk told me of Quinn. "He's a great coach. He's very motivating to play for, he's demanding. He expects a lot out of you and a lot out of himself, but he's just a great guy away from the rink as well, and he really builds relationships well with his players. He's someone who I've kept in touch with for a while now, and we get to play golf together usually once or twice a summer. So I'm very excited to work with him again."
It was more than just the opportunity to work with Quinn that attracted Grzelcyk to the Penguins in free agency, though. He called the Penguins a team that's "always caught my eye," for their style and the way he thinks his game would fit in with it.
"They play really fast, and I feel like that sort of suits my game and how I want to play," he said. "They transition so well. They're a really dangerous team off the rush, and they can beat you in so many different ways. They also defend really hard. They've been a really hard team to play against ever since I've been in the league and I have admired them from afar from a really long time."
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Matt Grzelcyk with the Bruins last season.
Grzelcyk is coming off of a down year with the Bruins. He recorded just two goals and nine assists -- both career-lows -- in 63 games. He missed time at the start of the season with an upper-body injury and toward the end of the season with a lower-body injury. He was often a healthy scratch in the playoffs, only appearing in three games before the Bruins were eliminated in the second round.
Overall, he called it a "pretty frustrating season."
"It was kind of a ticky-tacky injury that kept me out," Grzelcyk said. "I was forced to go on LTIR, so I had to miss 10 games. It was a little tough just getting back and adjusting to the speed again. I wouldn't attest it all to the injury, I think I just lost a little bit of confidence along the way. And I think as a player, it can be tough to regain that mid-season."
Grzelcyk said he's looking forward to "putting it all behind me" and taking advantage of the fresh start with a new team.
"I've had a really good summer so far," he said. "It's a new opportunity, new team. I'm hoping that gives me a little bit of energy coming to the team, and it's a team that I feel still has a lot of talent and a lot of will to win. So I'm excited to join the group."
Where exactly Grzelcyk fits into that group isn't quite clear yet. He's a left-handed shot, joining Marcus Pettersson, Ryan Graves, John Ludvig and Sebastian Aho as realistic candidates to play on the left side, partnered with either Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson or Jack St. Ivany on the right.
It seems pretty likely that Grzelcyk could slot somewhere into the top two pairings -- that wouldn't be unfamiliar territory for him. His most frequent partner at five-on-five last season was Charlie McAvoy, the Bruins' No. 1 defenseman. He played 609 minutes with McAvoy at five-on-five, with his next-most frequent partner being a distant second in Brandon Carlo at 172 minutes. When the season starts in October, he could find himself skating alongside Letang or Karlsson.
"Those are obviously two really special players," Grzelcyk said of his potential partners. "It would be a huge privilege to get the opportunity to play with them. Over the last few years, I've gotten the chance to play with Charlie McAvoy, I think one of the best defensemen in the NHL, and it's a really good opportunity. Those guys are such special players, and I want to just complement them as best I can and find out exactly how they play and get a closer look. Hopefully just get a little bit closer and more hands-on with them and pick their brain apart and just figure out how I can best complement them."
Grzelcyk was the Penguins' biggest signing in a relatively quiet free agency period, and he has the potential to be a real upgrade on the blue line. Whether he's in a top-four role and plays ahead of Graves, who struggled in his first year as a Penguin, or serves as a veteran partner for a young defenseman like St. Ivany, he could end up being a valuable add for next season.
