TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed forward Matthew Peca to a one-year, two-way contract, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced Wednesday.
Peca, 24, played in 10 games with the Lightning last season, recording one goal and two points to go along with two penalty minutes. The Petawawa, Ontario native made his NHL debut against the Montreal Canadiens on December 28, 2016. He notched his first career NHL point with an assist on December 31 against the Carolina Hurricanes and then scored his first career NHL goal the next game on January 3 versus the Winnipeg Jets.
The 5-foot-9, 178-pound forward also appeared in 68 games with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League last season, posting 12 goals and 41 points to go along with 14 penalty minutes. Peca ranked tied for third on the Crunch for power-play goals with five, fourth for assists with 29 and sixth for points. He has skated in 141 career AHL games, all with the Crunch over the past three seasons, posting 21 goals and 88 points. Peca also skated in 22 Calder Cup Playoff games in 2017, registering four goals and 14 points, helping Syracuse to the final.
Peca was originally drafted by the Lightning in the seventh round, 201st overall, at the 2011 NHL Draft.
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