When defenseman Matt Grzelcyk made the decision to sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer, he did so with the mindset that he'd come in and simply be given some opportunity to re-find his game.
But consistent top-four minutes and running the top power play weren't exactly what he had in mind from the jump.
“I think I’ve been given a lot of opportunity, which is all you can ask for as a player," Grzelcyk said. "I wasn’t really expecting to, maybe, play as much or be on the power play, but obviously, I welcomed that with open arms."
And he has not only welcomed that opportunity, he's made the most of it.
Fast forward nine months after signing a one-year, $2.75 million deal with the Penguins last summer, and Grzelcyk has enjoyed a career year. After a two-point effort in a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils Friday, he has a career-high 38 points, which includes 15 power play points as a result of quarterbacking a top unit with the likes of Sidney Crosby and other future hall-of-fame players on a rotating basis. And those numbers surpass previous career-highs of 26 and seven, respectively, from his eight-year tenure with the Boston Bruins.
His work on the power play is a big reason why the unit has catapulted itself from bottom-three in the league last season to top-seven this season. And his overall progression throughout the season has not gone unnoticed.
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"He certainly has done a really good job on the power play," said assistant coach David Quinn, who coaches both the defense and the power play. "It's not an easy situation to step into, but I think he's had a heck of a year. He had a really good career in Boston. Last year was a little bit of a down year for him, but health had something to do with it.
"I think he's really done a great job taking advantage of the situation that he's been presented with here, and he's earned everything he's gotten. Obviously, he's done a really good job on the power play, he's played big minutes for us, and I think, defensively, he's gotten better and better as the season has gone on. So, we're fortunate to have him. He's really done a good job here."
Grzelcyk's puck-moving ability and the simplicity in his game have certainly endeared him to his teammates and to the coaching staff.
"I think he's fit in real well," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "We love his ability to move the puck, and that's an important element of our team game is getting back to pucks on retrievals and being able to advance the puck to get out of our end. That's his biggest attribute, his biggest strength, and I think he's brought that to this team."
The offensive side of his game is something he has been able to fully unleash in Pittsburgh, as the system is inherently more catered toward offense as opposed to Boston's defense-heavy system. Pittsburgh focuses a lot on generating chances off the rush and from the transition game.
And that adjustment systems-wise has been pretty seamless for Grzelcyk - especially given the elite, offense-first players he has been sharing the ice with for most of the season.
"Not that we don’t value defense here," Grzelcyk said. "But with the caliber of players, the way that they create off the rush and get open in the o-zone… I’m just taking some time to pick their brains, seeing certain face-off plays or how they see the ice a little bit."
And when he's been deployed with those players - as he has all season long - it lends to an uptick in his offensive game, which has shown in the results. But he's also still working on some of those defensive details that were a huge part of his game prior to his stint in Pittsburgh.
"Offensively, I'm playing in more situations, getting more o-zone starts," Grzelcyk said. "Defensively, I think there’s still some things that I want to sharpen up on and continue to improve there... have good gaps, things like that. But I feel like I have a better understanding of how things work here now."
And Sullivan also believes that he has made the most of his opportunity, especially given the fact that his deployment and minutes exceeded what even the coaching staff - not just Grzelcyk - anticipated when the blueliner was first brought in.
"I think he's quietly had a very solid season for us," Sullivan said. He's played in the top-four all year long. I don't know that we anticipated playing him in the top-four when we first signed him, but he's earned his way in there based on the group that we have. I think, in those terms, it would be hard to sit here and say he hasn't had a solid contribution for us. I think he's quietly had a really good year for himself."
After staying put past deadline day, Grzelcyk is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. There's no telling what will happen this summer, as the team can go in multiple different directions as far as its approach to next season's roster construction.
But Grzelcyk has enjoyed his time in Pittsburgh, a city he was drawn to initially when deciding where to land last summer. And he hopes to stick around.
“I would love to come back," Grzelcyk said. "You never know how it’s going to shake out, especially after the deadline. But it’s obviously been a very positive experience for myself, and I love the city. I got drafted here in 2012, played my first game. So that kind of just started pulling me in this direction a little bit, and then just talking with the coaches and things like that in the offseason and how it fit in.
"It’s felt pretty comfortable from the start, and the guys have been super welcoming. It was a pretty seamless transition, and I’m super thankful for the opportunity I’ve been given.”
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