A potential trade candidate is off the board.
The Pittsburgh Penguins signed pending free-agent forward Blake Lizotte to a three-year, $6.75 million contract extension, the team announced Monday.
Lizotte, 28, is now tied to Pittsburgh through the 2028-29 season.
The Lindstrom, Minn., native joined the Penguins last season after spending the first six seasons of his career with the Los Angeles Kings.
Lizotte has 16 goals and 14 assists in 94 career games with the Penguins, including five goals and five assists this season while leading the team in short-handed ice time per game at two minutes 32 seconds.
The Penguins own the seventh-best penalty kill in the league, including an 85.6-per-cent success rate with the undrafted Lizotte in the lineup.
Pittsburgh has thrived this season when Lizotte is in the lineup. Pittsburgh is 20-9-6 with Lizotte available and went 1-5-3 when he missed time in December with an upper-body injury.
For his 414-game career, the left-shooting centre has 190 points (53 goals, 83 assists).
He also has two points (one goal, one assist) in 15 playoff games, all with the Kings.
--with files from The Associated Press
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