Sports

NHL

The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH — Turns out more than one player is willing to take a hometown discount to stay with the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Ruslan Fedotenko signed a $1.8 million, one-year contract Friday, becoming the third forward to take a pay cut so he wouldn’t have to leave a mostly young team that expects to be a championship contender for years.

Fedotenko made $2.25 million last season, when he bounced back from a disappointing regular season (16 goals, 39 points) to get seven goals and seven assists in the playoffs.

Craig Adams ($600,000 to $550,000) and Bill Guerin ($4.5 million to $2 million) also accepted salary cuts to stay after the free-agent signing period began Wednesday.

Enforcer-type forward Mike Rupp got a raise from $500,000 to $825,000 to leave New Jersey, but it is difficult to persuade free agents to take a pay cut and switch teams.

“I think it says a lot about Bill Guerin, Craig Adams and Ruslan Fedotenko to want to come back here and be part of this group,” general manager Ray Shero said Friday. “A guy like Mike Rupp really adds to our depth, our grit and our character, and obviously all these guys have won in the past. I’m happy with our forward group.”

The defense is thinner following the departures of Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill, Pittsburgh’s shutdown combination during the playoffs. Both signed for far more money than the Penguins – currently only $2.96 million under the salary cap – could afford.

Scuderi, who made $725,000 last season, signed a $13.6 million, four-year deal with Los Angeles, or about $1.4 million more per season than Pittsburgh offered. Gill signed for $4.5 million over two years with Montreal; the Penguins were interested only in a one-year contract.

Guenin joins organization

Pittsburgh also signed defenseman Nate Guenin, a western Pennsylvania native, to a two-way contract on Friday.

Guenin, who has played in 12 career NHL games, will likely start the season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. With Alex Goligoski and possibly Ben Lovejoy joining Pittsburgh full-time for the 2009-10 season, Guenin could help reinforce the AHL blueline.

Born in the Pittsburgh suburb of Sewickley, Guenin will make $500,000 if he plays in the NHL and $105,000 if he plays at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound defender had 14 assists in 62 games last season with the Philadelphia Phantoms, the AHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers. He played in one game with the Flyers.

Guenin, 26, was a fourth-round draft pick by the New York Rangers in 2002.

CANUCKS

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Free agent forward Mikael Samuelsson signed a $7.5 million, three-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.

“Obviously (the money) was the key, I shouldn’t lie,” Samuelsson said in a conference call after signing the deal.

The Swedish right wing spent the past four seasons in Detroit, winning the Stanley Cup in 2008 and falling one game short this past season. The 32-year-old forward has 86 goals and 208 points in 466 career NHL games.

Samuelsson was also part of Sweden’s gold medal-winning team at the 2006 Turin Olympics.

He’s the third forward to leave the Red Wings this spring. Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky signed with the Chicago Blackhawks this week.

Samuelsson believes the Canucks, who signed brothers Daniel and Henrik Sedin of Sweden to contract extensions this week, can contend for the Stanley Cup.

“I like the team,” he said. “When you play against Vancouver it’s always a hard game and a skill game too.

“You need some experience (to win the Cup). You need to be hungry. I believe we can do some damage.”

DUCKS

HELSINKI — Anaheim forward Teemu Selanne says his next NHL season will be his last.

Selanne, a 10-time all-star, celebrated his 39th birthday Friday. He told the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper in Finland that a man his age doesn’t belong in the NHL.

Selanne recently contemplated retirement but decided to play for one more season.

He also pondered the possibility of playing with longtime Montreal captain Saku Koivu. The Ducks are a possible new team for Koivu, who is leaving the Canadiens after 13 years.

The Finnish-born Selanne entered the NHL 1992 at age 22 with the Winnipeg Jets. In his first season, he scored 76 goals to set a rookie record.

Selanne has scored 614 goals for Winnipeg, San Jose, Colorado and Anaheim.

COYOTES

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Phoenix Coyotes signed defenseman Shaun Heshka to a one-year contract Friday.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The 24-year-old Heshka was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for the Coyotes’ seventh-round draft choice (187th overall) in last month’s NHL draft.

Heshka had three goals and 23 assists in 77 games last season with Manitoba of the American Hockey League.

He originally signed with Vancouver as a free agent in July 2006.