When the Pittsburgh Penguins signed Cody Ceci to a one-year contract a year ago in free agency it was not a popular decision. The list of people that actually liked the move was a very short and distinguished list, and the expectations for the signing could not have possibly been any lower.
As the season went on, though, a weird thing started to happen.
Ceci played really well. He not only played really well, he exceeded any and all expectations anybody could have possibly had for him. He also became one of coach Mike Sullivan’s most trusted defenders over the last three months of the season and into the playoffs, playing close to 20 minutes per game.