Will Hajek earn his place in the NHL? The Czech defenseman will have a training camp in Pittsburgh

Czech defenceman Libor Hajek has to fight for his place in the NHL.His contract with the New York Rangers expired at the end of last season and the 25-year-old has been out of contract for two months. However, he is currently heading to Pittsburgh, where he will try to fight for a new contract at training camp.

Libor Hajek was drafted in the second round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft with the 37th overall pick. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning, but didn’t make the A-team, whereupon he made only eight starts in the AHL for Syracuse.

He made his NHL debut in the 2018-19 season with the Rangers. However, he never made a permanent impact in New York.

The Rangers often sent him to Hartford on the farm, and he played his biggest chunk of games in the 2020/21 season, appearing in 44 games. However, a 2+2 record, albeit from a player from only the third defensive pairing, is not an indicator that he deserves a solid spot in the Rangers lineup.

Thus, he also alternated between the NHL and AHL in the following seasons, playing 16 games (1+0) in a Rangers jersey in the 2022/23 season, while appearing in 24 games (2+4) for Hartford.

The New York organization did not offer Hájek a new contract after the end of last season, so the Czech back has been without a contract since then.

As reported by CBS Sports, Hájek is now heading to Pittsburgh’s training camp, where he will try to fight not only for a new contract, but to stay in the NHL.

If he turns out to be a positive signing, other clubs in the Canadian-American competition may pick him up. It should be added, there is a lot of pressure in the Penguins locker room at the defenseman position.

Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Ryan Graves, Marcus Pettersson and Pierre Olivier-Joseph all have a clear place on the defensive line. Four other players are fighting for the remaining spot.

Sources: CBS Sports, CapFriendly, Elite Prospects