Matt Grzelcyk finally signs a new deal on Sunday.

It was a difficult summer for a number of National Hockey League free agents who realized that there wasn't nearly as much demand on the open market as they had anticipated, with one of the free agents who came out on the wrong side of things being veteran defenseman Matt Grzelcyk.

In spite of the fact that Grzelcyk was coming off of a career season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, one that saw him record 1 goal and 39 assists(career high) for a total of 40 points(career high), he was unable to secure himself a contract as a free agent. Instead Grzelcyk had to agree to a professional tryout offer with the Chicago Blackhawks, a situation that left him needing to prove that he could earn a spot on the Blackhawks roster.

It seems that Grzelcyk has managed to do just that, with an announcement on Sunday that Grzelcyk has now finally secured himself a new contract.

Blackhawks insider Scott Powers was the first to break the news that Grzelcyk had secured himself a new deal, although Powers did not provide any details of that deal. NHL insider Pierre LeBrun has since chimed in, revealing that Grzelcyk has signed a 1 year deal with an average annual value and cap hit of $1 million for the 2025-26 NHL regular season.

Grzelcyk will now have to once again prove what he can bring to the table on a team that is not expected to make the playoffs, with the hope being that he will be able to earn a more significant contract at the end of this current season.

This seems like a relatively low-risk type of signing from the Blackhawks, one that could potentially earn them an asset at the NHL's trade deadline this season should they miss the playoffs as expected.