Grzelcyk out to prove his value

Matt Grzelcyk can’t control whether people think his new contract is too long or too short, pays too much or if it’s a bargain. The opinions of the Bruins organization, his coaches and teammates, are what matter most.

Best case: By the time Grzelcyk is 30, he’ll have been well paid for four years, but also be considered underpaid.

"I feel very blessed that they wanted to sign me to quite a number of years," Grzelcyk said on Monday morning, after a few [...]

Matt Grzelcyk can’t control whether people think his new contract is too long or too short, pays too much or if it’s a bargain. The opinions of the Bruins organization, his coaches and teammates, are what matter most.

Best case: By the time Grzelcyk is 30, he’ll have been well paid for four years, but also be considered underpaid.

"I feel very blessed that they wanted to sign me to quite a number of years," Grzelcyk said on Monday morning, after a few days to digest the four-year, $14.75-million contract announced on Saturday afternoon. "I want to make sure I do everything in my power to help the team going forward, accept more responsibility, and to demand more of myself — to feel not only that I’m living up to it, but exceeding expectations."

The Bruins’ expectations are pretty clear. They think Grzelcyk, at 26 and with three NHL seasons on his resumé, is capable of expanding his role on the defense corps, which has so far consisted primarily of third-pairing matchups and second-unit power play duty.

The need for Grzelcyk to contribute more is just as obvious. Torey Krug has departed as a free agent, there’s no certainty that Zdeno Chara will play next season, and it’s unclear if the B’s, now pressed to within about $6.5 million of next season’s salary cap with second-line left wing Jake DeBrusk among those to be re-signed, have the ability to acquire defensive help from outside the organization.

The Bruins, in short, need more from Grzelcyk, and he wants to give more.

"I want to be able to handle more minutes, more responsibility," he said. "Take advantage of any opportunity that comes my way."

Grzelyck’s skating and puck-moving abilities definitely lend themselves to increased opportunities to produce. He’s a leading candidate to assume Krug’s role on the power play, and with added ice time accompanying a move up the depth chart, he’ll be skating more often with the Bruins’ top offensive lines.

"It’s no secret that we want the defense as a whole to add to our games offensively," said Grzelcyk, who has averaged 18 points over three seasons, and set career-high totals for goals (four), assists (17) and points (21) last season, when he played 68 (also a career best) of the 70 games the B’s got in before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the NHL’s regular season in March.

"That’s something I take pride in. I want to come back with maybe a different mindset, of wanting to initiate more on the offensive side of the puck. Obviously, there is a little bit of opportunity. It’s up to me to come back a better player, and want to take advantage of that."

At 5 feet, 9 inches and 175 pounds, Grzelcyk has always had to rely on his skating and his smarts in the defensive zone. The challenges will increase as he skates against opponents’ better players, and he says he’s ready.

"I feel like each year, I’ve gotten better," said the Charlestown, Mass., native, a third-round draft choice (No. 85 overall) in 2012 who spent one full year at AHL Providence (2016-17) before graduating to the NHL. "I’ve improved my overall game.

"I not only want to initiate more offensively, but also to accept more responsibility in the defensive end by using my smarts, using my skating ability to my advantage, and then trying to break pucks out so we can get going the other way."

Besides added ice time, Grzelcyk will probably take on more responsibility as a mentor. While potential partners like Brandon Carlo or McAvoy have as much or a bit more NHL experience, Grzelcyk has already been paired with younger defensemen like Connor Clifton and Jeremy Lauzon, and will make himself available to prospects like former first-round draft picks Jakub Zboril (2015) and Urho Vaakanainen (2018), both of whom are expected to get their best opportunities so far to earn spots on the blue line.

"I try to take on that role a little more each year," said Grzelcyk, who was helped along by veterans Adam McQuaid and Kevan Miller over his first two seasons. "Getting the opportunity to play with guys like (Clifford and Lauzon), who are a little younger — they know that if they had any sort of questions or want to pick my brain, I want to make sure I’m available for them.

"If anyone needs any sort of advice, wants to talk about certain plays, how I see the ice, how I see certain things developing, I’m certainly going to make myself available."

While the NHL doesn’t have a firm plan for next season besides a hoped-for Jan. 1 start date, Grzelcyk is already training off ice, and hopes to skate soon. Being prepared for every opportunity that comes next season is the immediate priority, but he also has a long-term goal.

"I want to come back each year as a better player," he said, "and to be able to look at myself in the mirror at the end and know that no matter what, I gave it everything I had."