Penguins re-sign Fleury, add Satan and Fedotenko

The Pittsburgh Penguins locked up another of their young stars on Thursday, inking goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to a seven-year, $35-million US contract.

The Penguins also announced Thursday the signing of free agent forwards Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko to one-year contracts.

Fleury, 23, was a restricted free agent but the Penguins selected him for salary arbitration in June, preventing other teams from giving him an offer sheet.

General manager Ray Shero called Fleury "one of the elite goaltenders of the game" and said he was instrumental in helping the team reach the Stanley Cup final.

"He is extremely gratified to be part of the Penguins core going forward," Fleury's agent, Allan Walsh, told the Associated Press.

"The contract shows a lot of confidence the team is placing in him and Marc is making a statement to all that Pittsburgh is where he wants to be playing."

Thursday's announcement comes one day after the Penguins signed star centre Evgeni Malkin and defenceman Brooks Orpik to long-term deals.

Fleury starred for Pittsburgh in last season's playoffs, finishing with a 1.97 goals-against average and he had three shutouts in 20 games as the Penguins bowed out in six games in the Stanley Cup final against the Detroit Red Wings.

He put forth one of the most impressive goaltending displays in Cup history with a 55-save win in triple overtime in Game 5 of the final.

Fleury said he gave clear instructions to his agent to seal a long-term deal with the Penguins.

"That's where I want to be," he told reporters on a conference call. "I love this city, the organization, the guys on the team."

The Sorel, Que., native is still one of the youngest goaltenders in the league despite playing 173 games over four seasons for the Penguins. He has 17 shutouts, a 2.95 average and .905 save percentage.

Fleury was the first overall pick in the 2003 NHL draft.

Satan will earn  $3.5 million next season, while Fedotenko will earn $2.25 million.

Satan, 33, scored 16 goals and added 25 assists in 80 games for the New York Islanders during the 2007-08 campaign.

Fedotenko, 29, scored 16 goals and tallied 33 points in 67 games with the Islanders last season. 

In other NHL news Thursday, the Minnesota Wild added a two-way, third-line forward with the signing of right-winger Antti Miettinen to a three-year contract.

Miettinen's deal was done on his 28th birthday, after he scored a career-high 15 goals to go with 19 assists in 69 games last season for the Dallas Stars.

"He's a complete player," Wild general manager Doug Risebrough said. "He's not a big guy, but he plays physical."

Earlier this week, Minnesota brought back popular winger Andrew Brunette and traded for potent defenceman Marek Zidlicky, but were stung by the departure of stalwart Brian Rolston to New Jersey and unsuccessful in their pursuit of a few other high-profile free agents, most notably Marian Hossa.

The Wild have two restricted free agent forwards Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Stephane Veilleux who could be headed for salary arbitration.

Elsewhere:

• The Rangers signed defenceman Dmitri Kalinin to a one-year contract.
• Unrestricted free-agent defenceman Daniel Tjarnqvist and the Colorado Avalanche agreed on a one-year contract.
• The Washington Capitals signed unrestricted free-agent forward Keith Aucoin to a two-year contract.
• The Rangers also broke ties with Martin Straka. The 35-year-old winger informed the NHL team on Thursday that he's going to play in Europe next season.