Lightning sign D Meszaros for six years

Aug 30, 2008 - 5:31 PM TAMPA BAY (Ticker) -- The Tampa Bay Lightning locked up recently acquired defenseman Andrej Meszaros on Saturday, signing the 22-year-old to a six-year contract.

Meszaros, entering his fourth NHL season, was acquired from the Ottawa Senators on Friday in exchange for fellow defensemen Filip Kuba and Alexandre Picard and a first-round draft pick.

The Lightning wasted no time securing their newest player long-term. Terms were not immediately disclosed, but according to a report in the Tampa Tribune, the deal is worth $24 million.

"Andrej will be a very big part of our hockey club moving forward," said Brian Lawton, Tampa Bay's executive vice president of hockey operations. "At 22 years of age, he will only continue to improve and mature as a player. NHL defensemen typically don't hit their prime until 25-26 years of age, and we look forward to working with Andrej throughout that time and beyond."

The 6-2, 218-pound Slovakian was a first-round pick by the Senators in 2003 after spending two seasons with HC Dukla Trencin of the Slovak Extraliga, the country's premier professional hockey league.

He paid immediate dividends for the Senators, becoming a key contributor on what has been one of the most successful teams in the Eastern Conference over the last decade. He led all rookies with a plus/minus of plus-34 and scored 39 points during his rookie campaign in 2005-06. A year later, he had a goal and six assists and registered a plus-5 rating for the Senators as they advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, losing in five games to the Anaheim Ducks.

In three years in the league, Meszaros has yet to miss any time, playing in all 82 games each season. Thus far in his NHL career, he has 26 goals, 84 assists and a plus-24 rating.