The Montreal Canadiens have signed forward Michael Pezzetta to a two-year contract extension, the team announced on Friday.
https://twitter.com/CanadiensMTL/status/1664618218760044546
The contract has a cap hit of $812,500. Pezzetta had his first full season in the NHL last year and proved to be an important stable presence in the team surrounded by all of the injuries. Pezzetta scored seven goals and had eight assists in 63 games with the Canadiens in 2022-23.
While he is likely to be near the bottom of the NHL depth chart, he has proven to be a big success story working his way from AHL healthy scratch to NHL player in just two seasons. He brings a physicality and relentlessness that not many others bring to the team.
This is the second extension signed by the Canadiens ahead of free agency, with the big names of Cole Caufield and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard still pending restricted free agents, among others. The team can also start negotiating an extension with goaltender Samuel Montembeault later this summer, as he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free-agent at the end of next season.