"It's exciting," he said. "I was real excited when Pittsburgh offered me that and I'm really happy to be back and with the team again. It's been an exciting couple days here."

However, that excitement was tempered for the 23-year-old defenseman knowing that a consistent spot in the lineup isn't necessarily guaranteed with that contract. But coming in, he wants to earn one and knows the mindset he must have in order to accomplish that.

"I think I'm just going to try and take it day by day," he said. "It starts with camp, coming in shape again and having a good camp and building from there. Once I start to play some games, playing consistent, playing solid defensively. As the season goes on, trying to progress and becoming a regular guy that's in the lineup."

Last season, Pouliot reported to training camp in the best shape of his life after training with Gary Roberts in Toronto. He had undergone a transformation physically and was noticeably thinner after adapting his diet and cutting a lot of body fat.

Pouliot was looking to take the next step in his career, but he sustained an injury early in the season that had him out until December. From there, he played just 11 games in Pittsburgh before going to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the remainder of the year.

"It was a little bit of a crazy year," admitted Pouliot, who has played 67 total games with Pittsburgh since entering the league in 2014-15. "There were some ups and downs and I didn't play as well as I can at times. I think once I got settled in in Wilkes, though, I was playing regularly and I really got my confidence back. I started to feel good about my game and how I was playing there. I think that really helped in my development, for sure."

The eighth-overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft knows his development hasn't necessarily tracked as quick as some may have expected at the pro level, but at this point, he's learned to just embrace the process, as head coach Mike Sullivan always says.

"It hasn't necessarily happened as quick as a person would like, but you've got to stick with it," he said. "It's not an overnight thing for some guys, it takes a little longer. I think with the season I had last year once I got going, it helped in my development and I hope to continue that coming into this year."