The Habs took care of one of their restricted free agents on Thursday, announcing the re-signing of forward Michael Pezzetta to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal pays $750,000 in the NHL and $82,500 in the AHL. The deal is for less than his qualifying offer of $787,500 but will give him a raise of $15,000 in the minors.
The 23-year-old was a sixth-round pick of the Canadiens back in 2016 (160th overall) and has spent the entirety of his professional career in the minors so far. Last season, he had two goals and three assists along with 30 penalty minutes in 20 games with Laval which made their decision to tender him a qualifying offer a little surprising.
Pezzetta will now need to go through waivers to make it back to the Rocket but there shouldn’t be any risk of him getting claimed. He will likely wind up back in a fourth line role with Laval as an energy forward and will need to show some overall progression if he wants to play higher up in the lineup.
In other news Thursday, Michael McNiven’s arbitration hearing has been set for the opening day of hearings on August 11th. Submissions will be due on Monday if a new deal can’t be reached by then.
Pezzetta’s Stats: