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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, 30, 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.

Fedotenko

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 $800,000 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. "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 $725,00 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-season contract.

Scuderi and Gill took on bigger roles when No. 1 defenseman Sergei Gonchar missed three-quarters of the season with a shoulder injury, then tore a knee ligament during the playoffs. With Gonchar expected to be healthy when he returns for training camp in September, along with Brooks Orpik, Mark Eaton, Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski, Shero anticipates adding only one experienced defenseman.

Shero hasn't gotten a recent medical update on Gonchar, who was badly injured during the second round against Washington but returned after missing only two games.

"No news is good news, right?" Shero said.

Other signings

Another forward leaves the Wings

Free-agent forward Mikael Samuelsson signed a three-year, $7.5 million contract with the Vancouver Canucks.

The Swedish right wing spent the past four seasons in Detroit, winning the Stanley Cup in 2008. The 32-year-old 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 in the first three days of free agency. 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."

Hnidy goes north

The Minnesota Wild signed veteran defenseman Shane Hnidy to a one-year contract. Hnidy, 33, is a solid, hard-hitting presence; he tied his career-high with 12 points last season with the Boston Bruins, and had 45 penalty minutes.

The Wild are Hnidy's sixth team (joining Ottawa, Nashville, Atlanta, Anaheim and Boston). He has played 477 games in nine seasons, with 57 points (14-43--57) and 565 penalty minutes.

Arnason joins Rangers

Forward Tyler Arnason signed a two-way contract with the New York Rangers, his fourth NHL team.

Arnason, 30, played in 71 games last season with the Colorado Avalanche, scoring five goals and 22 points in 71 games.

Coyotes sign young defenseman

Phoenix signed defenseman Shaun Heshka to a one-year contract. Financial terms were not disclosed.

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

Information from ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun and The Associated Press was used in this report.