The Penguins re-signed assistant coach Mike Vellucci to a two-year contract extension, Ron Hextall announced on Monday.
"Mike is a dedicated coach who has proven to be a valuable addition since joining Pittsburgh," Hextall said of the move. "We're excited to have him back behind the bench for two more seasons."
The extension matches the one that Todd Reirden signed to stay on as a member of the coaching staff on Thursday. Reirden also received a promotion to the role of associate coach as part of his extension.
Vellucci has spent two seasons as the Penguins' assistant coach, primarily focusing on the forwards and penalty kill in his role. The penalty kill has a 81.5% success rate under Vellucci, ranking ninth in the league in that span. Last season it ranked third overall with a 84.4% success rate.
Vellucci first joined the Penguins' organization in 2019-20 as head coach of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and assistant general manager, leading the team to a 29-26-3-5 record before COVID shut down the season.
Prior to joining the organization, Vellucci coached the Charlotte Checkers (AHL affiliate of the Hurricanes) to a Calder Cup championship in 2018-19. He spent five years in the Hurricanes' organization, serving as assistant general manager and director of hockey operations for all five and taking on the added role of Checkers head coach in the last two years. Vellucci also spent 13 seasons as the general manager and head coach of the OHL's Plymouth Whalers, where he developed future stars including Rickard Rakell, James Neal, Tyler Seguin and Vincent Trocheck.
