Lizotte looks to bring 'tenacity, speed' to bottom-six

Blake Lizotte said that what attracted him the most to the Penguins in free agency is the "chance to win."

"First off, just look at their roster," he said in a virtual media availability Thursday afternoon. "They have a ton of great players, obviously. And last year, I think they were a lot better than what the standings showed. Obviously, missing the playoffs by just a tad was disappointing for them. But I think everyone around the league knows how good of a team they have, and especially the guys in that room. If they put it together -- the skill, the experience, I think it has a chance to win."

Lizotte, a 26-year-old left-handed forward, was the only player the Penguins signed to a multiyear term on the opening day of free agency, that a two-year, one-way contract worth $1.85 million per year. Lizotte previously spent his entire five-year professional career with the Kings, who first signed him as an undrafted free agent out of St. Cloud State at the end of the 2018-19 season.

Lizotte projects to play somewhere in the Penguins' bottom six, and he thinks his game can fit what's needed on those lines.

"I bring energy and tenacity and speed," Lizotte said of his play. "I just bring a little more youth and some energy to kind of give some life to games. I think that's what I do well, is when we maybe don't have our A-game, I tend to bring players into the game, whether it be with tenacity or speed or forechecking or whatever that might be, I have a tendency to kind of drag players who maybe don't have it that night into the game. For me, bringing it to Pittsburgh, that'll be key, specifically on the nights where maybe the team as a group doesn't have their A-game."

That also includes plays like this one, diving to block a shot and sparking his team for a rush the other direction:

Lizotte is on the smaller side, at 5 feet 9, 175 pounds. Because he's undersized, that "tenacity" is something, he said, that came naturally.

"I can probably count on one hand the smaller guys in the league that can get away with just skill, be it Patrick Kane or something like that," he said. "So I think, as a young player, you're looking at the league going, 'OK, my odds of being that skilled player are a zillion-to-one, I have to bring something to the table that other people maybe aren't willing to do.' So I think for me, it just kind of came naturally in my game to start with, and as I realized that it was probably going to be my path to the NHL, I really worked to kind of craft that way of play and that play style."

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Blake Lizotte

Lizotte has primarily been a center throughout his career, but there's a logjam at center with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kevin Hayes and Lars Eller. Noel Acciari is a center, too, but seemed to benefit from the shift to wing in the middle of last season, and Kyle Dubas suggested this summer that the addition of Hayes as a center could help keep Acciari on the wing. Even so, it's looking like Lizotte might have to shift to wing, as well.

Lizotte knows the situation and, if he does start on the wing, he's not too mad about that. He's pretty happy about it, actually.

"Down the middle, those top two guys aren't moving, nor should they ever move," Lizotte said of Crosby and Malkin. "And down in the bottom-six, I think Eller is an amazing player, and he's well-storied and has won and has done great things in his career. ... The first couple years in the league, I hadn't played a single game at (wing). Over the last two seasons, L.A. had signed a few guys, so I slid over to the wing for maybe 20 games each season. So I am comfortable there.  It actually excites me to potentially have a chance to be on the wing. I think you're able to focus a little more on the offensive zone, which I think is exciting."

Lizotte said he thinks that, for a forward, shifting from center to wing is easier than the reverse because of the defensive responsibilities at center.

He could use a bounce-back season offensively, too. Last season, he missed more than a month with a lower-body injury and was limited to 62 games, producing seven goals and eight assists. That's a down year for him, after scoring 10 goals and 14 assists in 70 games in 2021-22, then 11 goals and 23 assists in 81 games in 2022-23.

Lizotte said he also is looking forward to just living in Pittsburgh. The Lindstrom, Minn., native has spent his whole professional career in Los Angeles, and he and his wife feel as if they're coming into a situation that reminds them more of home.

"Believe it or not, we're excited to have snow again in our day-to-day living," Lizotte said. "I'm excited to get going when we get to Pittsburgh."