The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed defensemen Mark Pysyk and Libor Hajek to professional tryout agreements, CapFriendly reported Tuesday evening.
Pysyk and Hajek will both compete for spots on a reshaped Penguins blue line that also includes reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Ryan Graves, Marcus Pettersson, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Chad Ruhwedel, Ty Smith, Mark Friedman and Will Butcher.
After missing all of the 2022–23 season with an Achilles injury, Pysyk will attempt to make a comeback with the Penguins in their training camp.
The 6-foot-1 right-handed defenseman, who turned 31 in January, spent all of last year on the Detroit Red Wings’ injured reserve list after signing a one-year, $850,000 contract with the club on July 14, 2022. He tore his Achilles during a training session less than two weeks later.
Hajek, 25, arrives in Pittsburgh having spent the vast majority of his professional career in the New York Rangers organization. The Rangers acquired Hajek from the Lightning, who drafted him in 2016, as part of the blockbuster Ryan McDonagh deal at the 2018 trade deadline.
Since making his NHL debut with the Rangers in the 2018–19 season, Hajek has collected four goals and 12 points in 110 career games with the club. The 6-foot-2 left-handed defenseman managed one point (a goal) in 16 games with the Rangers in 2022–23.
Pysyk is certainly the more established NHL player of the two, having amassed 104 points in 521 games with the Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, and Dallas Stars since making his NHL debut with Buffalo back in 2013. The Sabres originally selected Pysyk with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft.
The Penguins will have a bit of cap flexibility to begin the season with top forward Jake Guentzel recovering from an ankle injury. Neither Pysyk nor Hajek is likely to command much (if any) more than the NHL minimum salary of $775,000.
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