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Coming off an incredible season with Quinnipiac University that ended with a loss in the NCAA championship game against Yale on Saturday, goaltender Eric Hartzell was sure to draw plenty of interest as a free agent.
It didn't take long for a team to sign him, either. Hartzell inked a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, a deal that goes through the rest of this season at an annual average of $925,000. Because of his age, 23, that was all the Penguins could offer in terms of years but obviously they will keep his rights.
The small touch of irony in there is that Pittsburgh is the last city that Hartzell played in. The Penguins probably got a good look at the goaltender since the Frozen Four was held at CONSOL Energy Center. Despite the 4-0 loss to Yale in the final, they liked what they saw.
And why not? Hartzell was the best goalie in the NCAA this season, leading Quinnipiac to new heights. He was so good that he earned a spot as a Hobey Baker Award finalist as the top player in college hockey, losing out to St. Cloud State's Drew LeBlanc -- who has since signed with the Blackhawks.
In 42 games this season Hartzell was simply outstanding, starting 42 of 43 games. He finished with a .920 save perencetage and 1.57 goals against average while finishing with a final record of 30-7-5.
The Penguins' interest makes sense. Marc-Andre Fleury is the man who does the starting but the Penguins have been trying to find a solid and reliable guy to play behind him. They signed Tomas Vokoun to a deal before this season and he has worked out well -- certainly better than the previous backups -- but he's getting long in the tooth and is only signed for one more season beyond this. Hartzell could fit in the Pens plans after that. Or maybe even before, you never know.
You figure that going into an organization like Pittsburgh is a good fit for him, too. There is no need to press him into action with Fleury and Vokoun but he also has a pretty good team in front of him that can help him out. It's always nice on a goalie when you know you don't have to be perfect every night.
Among the college free agents, Hartzell is/was one of the most desireable, among all players, not just goalies. He fits the mold of the prototypical goalie in today's NHL. The Minnesota native is big at 6'4 so he can take up a good chunk of the net.
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