The Chicago Blackhawks made a move in hopes of patching up their leaky defense ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Two days before the start of the regular season, the Blackhawks signed ex-Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelyck to a one-year deal carrying a $1 million cap hit.
He will likely snag a spot in the top-six of a defense group that has desperately needed help.
The 31-year-old defenseman had one goal and 40 points in 82 games with a plus/minus of minus-six for the Penguins during the 2024-25 season. He notched 15 of his career-high total of 39 assists on Pittsburgh’s power play. He logged 20:37 of time-on-ice per game.
It was Grezlyck’s lone season with the Penguins after spending eight seasons with the Bruins. In his 445 game regular season tenure with Boston, Grezlyck had 25 goals and 135 points.
The 2012 third-round selection out of Boston University also has a wealth of playoff experience. He made the playoffs seven times with the Bruins, totaling five goals and 14 points in 66 total postseason games.
Grezlyck had four goals and eight points in 20 games when he helped the Bruins make the 2019 Stanley Cup Final as a 25-year-old. He averaged 16:27 of time-on-ice during that run before the Bruins were dispatched in seven games by the St. Louis Blues in the Cup Final.
The Blackhawks finished the 2024-25 season with 292 goals against — the second-worst in the NHL.
Grezlyck’s playoff experience and his ability to log heavy minutes should help them patch up that hole as they look to make the playoffs since the NHL’s expanded 2019-20 COVID bubble playoffs, when they were the final of 24 teams to get invited after the regular season was suspended due to the pandemic.
The Blackhawks will open their season on Tuesday, Oct. 7, when the Florida Panthers will raise their second consecutive Stanley Cup banner ahead of a nationally televised game on ESPN at 5 p.m. EST.
