Pittsburgh Penguins sign forward Matt Nieto to two-year, $900k AAV

The Pittsburgh Penguins are signing free agent forward Matt Nieto to a two-year deal worth $1.8 million. According to CapFriendly, the contract will have an average annual value of $900,000

TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report on the deal.

Nieto, 30, last played for the Colorado Avalanche, where he registered nine points in 36 games and added zero points in seven playoff games as the 2022 Stanley Cup champions were eliminated by the Seattle Kraken in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Nieto was acquired by the Avalanche from the San Jose Sharks at the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline. While with the Sharks during the 2022-23 season, he collected eight goals and seven assists for 15 points in 45 games.

Nieto had previously played for the Avs prior to re-joining the Sharks in 2020-21, bouncing back and forth between the two clubs throughout his career. In fact, he was selected No. 47 overall by the Sharks in the 2011 NHL Draft. He played three seasons with Boston University of the NCAA, and in his final season, he notched 37 points in 39 games. The Long Beach, California product made his NHL debut in 2013-14 with the Sharks, registering 10 goals and 24 points in 66 games. During the Sharks’ miraculous run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2015-16, Nieto collected three points in 16 playoff games. He was moved to the Avs for the first time in his career in 2016-17 and spent three and a half seasons in Denver before heading back to California and re-joining the Sharks.

Throughout his career, he has appeared in 651 NHL games collecting 85 goals and 114 assists for 199 points in that frame.