Bruins sign Matt Grzelcyk to two-year extension
Grzelcyk played four seasons at Boston University before turning pro two years ago.
Matt Grzelcyk, who made himself a key component of the Boston backline this past season, came to terms Friday on a new two-year deal at a budget-friendly $1.4 million annual cap hit.
Grzelcyk, 24, became the first of Boston’s pending free agents to sign this offseason, and likely will stand up as general manager Don Sweeney’s most reasonable signing of the summer among the roster players who finished the season with the varsity.
Sweeney, who will leave early next week for the NHL amateur entry draft in Dallas, remains in contract talks with backup goalie Anton Khudobin (unrestricted free agent), forward Tim Schaller (UFA), and forward Sean Kuraly, who, like Grzelcyk prior to signing, is about to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.
Grzelcyk, who increasingly became a fixture on coach Bruce Cassidy’s No. 3 defensive unit, has played only 74 NHL games, 63 of those in the regular season. With such a small sample size on his résumé, including only 15 career points, he offered agent Peter Fish little negotiating leverage if he were to enter arbitration — a process that driven almost exclusively by numbers.
The Bruins announced the signing early in the evening, via a news release that stated Grzelcyk, a favorite son of Charlestown, will be made available to the media on Monday. In the high-speed work of the internet and social media, some of the club media relations practices remain in the dial-up era.
Grzelcyk, who played four seasons at Boston University before turning pro two years ago, was drafted by the Bruins with the 85th pick in the 2012 draft. He joined an impressive group of rookies, including the likes of Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, and Anders Bjork (prior to concussion and shoulder injury) who found steady work in Boston last season. Ryan Donato also came aboard after finishing up his junior playing season at Harvard.
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With Grzelcyk’s salary locked in place, Sweeney no doubt will continue to explore options to upgrade the backline. Though effective in the third-pairing role, Grzelcyk is small (5 feet 9 inches), and he plays behind No. 2 lefthanded defensemen Torey Krug, who also is 5-9.
Sweeney would like to add some size at that spot, which has led to speculation that he might deal Krug, the club’s top point-getter from the back, who has two more years remaining on his contract with a $5.25M cap hit. If Krug is dealt, it could mean Grzelcyk takes a higher-profile role in the offense, along likely getting some added time on the second power-play unit.
Khudobin and agent Kent Hughes traded contract terms with Sweeney soon after the conclusion of the club’s playoff run. Khudobin signed here two summers ago as an unrestricted free agent, a two-year deal with a $1.2M cap hit. If he signs here, he is likely in line for a salary bump to approximately $2M per year.
