PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins are holding on to defenceman Chad Ruhwedel.

The Penguins re-signed Ruhwedel to a two-year deal on Thursday that carries an average value of $700,000 a season.

The 29-year-old Ruhwedel played in 18 games for the Penguins in 2018-19, scoring one goal and one assist while averaging 16:17 of ice time. He struggled to find a niche with the Penguins last season. At one point he went more than two months without playing as a healthy scratch, but played well in February following injuries to teammate Kris Letang among others.

General manager Jim Rutherford praised Ruhwedel's work ethic, saying Ruhwedel "exemplified what it means to be a team player."

Ruhwedel, who broke into the NHL with Buffalo in 2013, won a Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2017. He has five goals and 14 assists in 129 career regular-season games.

___

More AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The Associated Press