Matthew Peca re-signs for another year with the Tampa Bay Lightning

This past season, Matthew Peca scored his first NHL goal at the age of 23, in his fourth game with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He played ten games in all with the big club, and contributed to a long and successful Syracuse Crunch playoff run. A few months later, at age 24, Peca has been re-signed to another year with the Tampa Bay Lightning on a two-way contract, for $650,000 in the NHL. His AHL salary is not yet available.

Peca played four years in the NCAA, and is the first Quinnipac University alumnus to score an NHL goal. Here is the goal via Raw Charge’s recap: At 3:43 of the second, Matthew Peca’s first career goal in the NHL tied the game. He got helpers from Vladislav Namestnikov and Alex Killorn.

Peca has done increasingly well in Raw Charge’s Top 25 Under 25, moving from 25th in 2013 to 16th in 2016. His rank this year has yet to be revealed.

Peca’s last contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning was his entry-level contract, with an AAV of 925,000. His salary with the Syracuse Crunch was 70,000.

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.