Former Penguins goaltender Maxim Lagace signs in Austria

Former Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Maxim Lagace has signed with the Graz 99ers, a team based in Austria that competes in the International Central European Hockey League (ICEHL).

That team announced the transaction via a release on Wednesday.

A native of Saint-Augustin, Quebec, the 32-year-old spent the past two seasons with Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Last season, he appeared in 31 games and posted a 17-10-0 record, a 2.64 goals against average, an .887 save percentage and two shutouts.

Lagace spent one season with the Penguins in 2020-21, serving as a reserve, largely with the pandemic-era taxi squad. He appeared in one NHL game that season and was highly successful. During the regular season finale on May 8, Lagace guided the Penguins to a 1-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena, recording his first career NHL shutout by making 29 saves.

In the process, he became the first player in Penguins history to record a shutout in his debut for the franchise.

Along with the Penguins, Lagace has played for the Vegas Golden Knights and Tampa Bay Lightning during his NHL career.

The ICEHL has teams in Austria, Hungary, Italy and Slovenia.

Beaulieu retires

Longtime NHL defenseman Nathan Beaulieu, who was briefly a member of the Penguins but never played for the club, has retired.

The NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA) announced Beaulieu’s retirement on Wednesday.

Congratulations to Nathan Beaulieu, who has officially announced his retirement from pro hockey ????⁰
Wishing the former first-round pick the best of luck in the future! pic.twitter.com/yYHEIxRy0j

— NHLPA (@NHLPA) July 23, 2025

Beaulieu enjoyed an 11-year NHL career that included a brief stop with the Penguins during the 2021-22 season.

Acquired at the trade deadline from the Winnipeg Jets on March 21, Beaulieu was designated to long-term injured reserve (LTIR) due to an undisclosed ailment at the time. With limited salary cap space, the Penguins could not formally activate Beaulieu until the postseason started.

By May 5, Beaulieu was activated but wound up being a healthy scratch for the final six games of a first-round series loss to the New York Rangers.

In addition to the Jets, the 32-year-old Beaulieu skated for the Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres and Anaheim Ducks.

A native of Stratford, Ont., Beaulieu briefly played for Barys Astana, a team based in Kazakhstan that competes in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), last season.