Ruslan Fedotenko comes back to Flyers on 1-year deal; Bruno Gervais signing made official

The Flyers announced today that they've signed forward Ruslan Fedotenko to a one-year contract. Financial terms were not disclosed by the team, but according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, the deal is worth $1.75 million. Pretty cheap. The 33-year-old Fedotenko earned $1.4 million on his deal with the New York Rangers last season.

The Flyers also officially announced the signing of Bruno Gervais, a depth defenseman who played with the Lightning last year. TSN reports the deal is worth $825,000, a raise of $300,000 from his league-minimum deal with Tampa Bay a year ago. He's a fifth defenseman at best -- more likely a sixth or seventh defenseman, a commodity the Flyers are stocked with.

Fedotenko is a decent depth signing at a nice price. He's a solid two-way guy who finished fourth on the Rangers last season in competition rank. He started just 36 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, showing that John Tortorella trusted Fedotenko to take on tough assignments. A solid third-line winger, he plays mostly the left side, an area where the Flyers are deficient.

Fedotenko can also chip in on offense a bit. He's not going to light up the board or anything, but he scored nine goals and 11 assists in his 73 games with the Rangers last season.

Then, of course, there's the fact that he can't score crucial goals against the Flyers anymore. He's scored 16 goals in his career against Philadelphia -- more than he's scored against any other team in the NHL. The 28 total points he's scored against the Flyers is second only to the Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise in his career, and he's played 10 extra games against that club than he has against Philly.

He's also won two Stanley Cups, which is likely irrelevant but seems necessary to mention anyway.