The Chicago Blackhawks will be signing defenseman Matt Grzelcyk to a one-year NHL contract, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Grzelcyk, who is repped by Quartexx’s Sean Coffey, had been with the Blackhawks for their preseason and training camp on a PTO. He has now earned a deal to remain there on a full-time basis. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the deal is worth $1MM over its one-year term. The Blackhawks have now officially confirmed the signing.
Grzelcyk played in three preseason contests for the Blackhawks, though he did not register a point. It was somewhat surprising to see Grzelcyk sign a PTO in Chicago, as his performance in 2024-25 suggested he would not have an issue finding another NHL contract.
In the summer of 2024 Grzelcyk signed a one-year, $2.75MM deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and that was coming off of the least productive season of his NHL career, one in which he scored just 11 points in 63 games.
So after a season in which Grzelcyk found his way onto the Penguins’ power play and scored a career-high 40 points in 82 games, it was generally believed that Grzelcyk would have no issue finding an NHL deal for 2025-26. But that proved not to be the case, as Grzelcyk lingered on the open market and settled for a PTO with the Blackhawks
Perhaps the 2023 free agency of Erik Gustafsson can be pointed to when evaluating why Grzelcyk had such a difficult time on the open market, despite his 40 points of production. Like Grzelcyk, Gustafsson is also an offensively-oriented defenseman without penalty-killing ability or much shutdown value. And like Grzelcyk, Gustafsson entered his unrestricted free agency in 2023 coming off of a season where he produced quite well – 42 points in 70 games.
But just as Grzelcyk experienced this past summer, offers for Gustafsson were softer than some may have expected, and he chose to sign a one-year, $825K contract with the New York Rangers, a far lower number than most expected for a blueliner with his production. We even noted in our coverage at the time our surprise at the relatively low cost of the contract despite Gustafsson’s production.
Of course, things ended up working out for Gustafsson as he parlayed a 31-point season with the Rangers (one that included a deep playoff run) into a two-year, $2MM AAV deal with the Detroit Red Wings. Although a similar long playoff run is highly unlikely for the Blackhawks, Grzelcyk will likely be hoping that he can continue to follow Gustafsson’s trajectory and have a strong year that prompts stronger leaguewide interest next summer.
Grzelcyk will be competing with some talented young defensemen in Chicago for a spot on the team’s power play, and 2022 first-rounder Sam Rinzel appears to be, at this stage, his most significant barrier to obtaining the role of first-unit puck distributor. But the path to at least a second-unit deployment is far clearer, which means this is a somewhat ideal situation for Grzelcyk. And seeing as this contract is just for one year at a limited cap hit, strong performance for the still-rebuilding Blackhawks could, later in the season, even earn the veteran blueliner a trade to a contender in need of defensive reinforcement.
Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images