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Former Pittsburgh Penguins Goalie Signs with New Team Overseas
Former Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Maxime Lagace has decided to leave the NHL for good and sign with a team overseas, inking with Graz 99ers of the ICEHL.
Former Penguins goaltender Maxime Lagace has signed with the Graz 99ers, an Austrian team that plays out in the International Central European Hockey League (ICEHL). The team announced this signing in an official release on Wednesday.
Harry Lange, Head Coach: "We had Max Lagacé on our shortlist from the very beginning. His years with numerous of the most renowned NHL teams alone say a lot about him-a top goalie who can make the difference for us, especially in the playoffs."
Philipp Pinter, Graz99ers Sporting Director: "Good things really do take time, apparently. We've had Max on our radar for some time after he played two very strong seasons in Sweden. A goalie with good size, quick reflexes, and the necessary experience in various top leagues. Mentally, he's a very strong guy who's hungry for success and comes to Graz accordingly motivated."
Maxime Lagace, 32, is a native of Saint-Augustin, Quebec. He has played each of the past two seasons in Sweden with Farjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).
In 2023-24, he appeared in 31 games, posting a 17-10-0 record with a 2.64 goals-against average, an .887 save percentage, and two shutouts.
He joined the Penguins organization for the 2020-21 campaign, splitting the majority of the COVID-impacted season on the club's taxi squad. Lagace appeared in just one contest for Pittsburgh, but it was a memorable one.
Lagace memorably had a shutout in his Penguins debut
On May 8, 2021, he stopped 29 shots in a 1-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres for his first career NHL shutout. He was the first player in franchise history to record a shutout in his Penguins debut.
Lagace has also played in the NHL with the Vegas Golden Knights and Tampa Bay Lightning.
The ICEHL features teams in Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Slovenia and is one of the top professional hockey leagues in Central Europe. We would like to wish Lagace all the best as he embarks on this new chapter of his career.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 23 | 41 ANSWERS Former Pittsburgh Penguins Goalie Signs with New Team Overseas Will Maxime Lagace have success overseas? | ||
| Yes | 22 | 53.7 % |
| No | 19 | 46.3 % |
| List of polls | ||