Former Penguins goaltender Max Lagace signs in Sweden
Former Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Max Lagace has signed with Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League.
That team announced the transaction via release Wednesday.
A native of Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Quebec, Lagace has spent his entire professional career in North America up until this point.
His time with the Penguins was brief. One game, in fact.
A free agent signing in the 2020 offseason, Lagace bounced between the NHL roster, the AHL roster and the pandemic-era taxi squad throughout the 2020-21 campaign that was limited in scale due to covid-19.
His lone NHL game for the Penguins was memorable. Making his first NHL appearance in over two years, Lagace recorded his first career shutout after making 29 saves in a 1-0 home win against the Buffalo Sabres on May 8, 2021 in the team’s regular season finale. In the process, he became the first — and still only — Penguins goaltender to record a shutout in his debut for the franchise.
Lagace left the Penguins in the ensuing offseason, joining the Tampa Bay Lightning as an unrestricted free agent.
During the 2022-23 campaign, the 30-year-old Lagace spent the entire season with the Syracuse Crunch, American Hockey League affiliate of the Lightning. In 41 AHL contests, Lagace had a 17-12-8 record, a 3.34 goals-against average, an .888 save percentage and one shutout.
In addition to the Penguins and Lightning, Lagace has also played for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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