For Matt Grzelcyk, the dream of nearly every Boston-born youngster came true. He paved the way from his Charlestown youth days, across the river to Boston University, and up Storrow Drive to TD Garden, where he played for the Boston Bruins.
Having decided not to sign the defenseman as an unrestricted free agency this offseason, the Bruins have forced Grzelcyk to face the harsh realities of life in the National Hockey League. Grzelyck, now headed to Pittsburgh, signs a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Penguins.
“It’s difficult to leave a team, but I’m driven to prove myself as a player once more,” Gryzelcyck said to the Pittsburgh media earlier this week on a Zoom conference call. “Coming here, I feel very motivated.”
Grzelcyk was one of nine free agents the Bruins had available this summer, none of whom they re-signed, along with players like Jake DeBrusk. Grzelcyk’s time in Boston appeared to be coming to an end even before the Bruins’ season ended in the second round of the playoffs. For the previous several years, injuries prevented him from playing and limited his effectiveness when he did.
“I was unable to play because of a minor injury,” Grzelcyk remarked. “I had to miss games because I had to go on LTIR.” Regaining the speed and getting back on track was a little difficult. I wouldn’t blame the injury entirely. Along the way, I lost a little bit of confidence, and as a player, it may be difficult to get that back in the middle of the season. I’m currently attempting to move past that.
Grzelyck needs to regain his form in order to become the skillful blue line player that was so valuable to the Bruins in his early career.
Grzelyck averaged more than 103 minutes of power play action per season for the Bruins during a four-year span from 2018 to 22. According to Natural Stat Trick, he scored an average of 6.25 points during that period. His usage on the man advantage has decreased by about two thirds over the past two years. He played just 10:42 seconds on the power play in the previous year and did not score a point.
Grzelcyk’s past as an offensive-minded defenseman is perhaps what attracted the Penguins, who had the third-worst power play in the league the previous season, to him in free agency, despite his lackluster recent performances. With future Hall of Famers Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang already playing on Pittsburgh’s blue line, it’s unclear how much additional time Grzelcyk will see on special teams.
Grzelcyk remarked, “It will be an incredible opportunity to play with those two really special players.” “What a fantastic opportunity this is. I want to give those folks my finest compliments and take a deeper look to see how they play because they are such unique players. I’m hoping to get to know them better, get more involved with them, and learn as much as I can about how I can best support them.
Of course, Grzelcyk will benefit from any information he can gather from the Penguins this season. He is prepared to refind his path in Pittsburgh after his career took a wrong turn in Boston.
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