Phoenix Coyotes: The Coyotes signed free-agent left wing Daniel Cleary to a multiyear contract on Tuesday.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Cleary, 24, played 57 games with the Edmonton Oilers last season and had four goals and 13 assists with a plus-minus rating of plus-5.

"We're very pleased to add a player like Daniel Cleary to our exciting, young team," said Coyotes vice president and assistant general manager Laurence Gilman.

"It's not often that you can pick up a 24-year-old who has played in over 250 NHL games without having to surrender an asset in return. Cleary will add depth to our forward ranks and provide us with both size and speed on the wing."

The 6-foot, 203-pound Cleary enjoyed his best season in 2000-01 with 14 goals and 21 assists for Edmonton.

A first-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 1997, Cleary has played in 261 NHL games with Chicago and Edmonton, collecting 35 goals and 60 assists.

Detroit Red Wings: The Red Wings avoided salary arbitration with defenseman Mathieu Dandenault on Tuesday, re-signing the defenseman to a one-year contract.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Dandenault had four goals and 15 assists in 74 games last season. He has been with the Red Wings his entire career, making his debut in 1995-96 after being drafted in the second round of the 1994 draft.

"We're very happy to sign Mathieu for another season and to avoid going to arbitration," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "We felt he took a big step in development, especially in the second half of last season."

The Red Wings have already bolstered their blue line this offseason by signing free agent Derian Hatcher from the Dallas Stars.

Colorado Avalanche: The Avalanche said Tuesday it had signed three players -- defensemen Tomas Slovak and Karlis Skrastins and forward Bates Battaglia -- to contracts. Terms were not disclosed.

Slovak was given a multiyear deal and the others received one-year contracts. GM assistant Greg Sherman said Battaglia and Skrastins were expected to play next season.

Battaglia, 27, was acquired before the end of last season and finished the year with six goals, 19 assists and 100 penalty minutes.

Skrastins, 28, was acquired after playing 307 games with the Nashville Predators. He is expected to shore up a defense that has lost veterans Bryan Marchment (Toronto) and Greg de Vries (New York Rangers) in the past month.

Slovak was also acquired from the Predators last month. He led all Western Hockey League defensemen last season with 18 goals and 53 assists for 71 points.

Dallas Stars: Antti Miettinen and Mattias Tjarnqvist, past draft picks that were among the team's best prospects in Europe, signed contracts with the Stars on Tuesday.

While the Stars weren't in danger of losing their rights to the players, assistant general manager Francois Giguere said the two had to be signed by Tuesday to ensure that they would be able to play in the organization this season. If they don't make the Stars' roster, they will play for Utah in the American Hockey League.

Giguere said the two "will have a serious chance to make our team coming out training camp.'' Both played in the 2003 World Championships in Finland, Miettinen for Team Finland and Tjarnqvist for Team Sweden.

Miettinen, picked by the Stars in the seventh round of the 2000 draft, was the player of the year in the Finnish Elite League last season. The center scored 50 points (25 goals, 25 assists) in 53 regular season games and added seven assists and a goal in 10 playoff games.

Miettinen's first full season in the Finnish league was 2001-02, when he ranked fifth with 57 points (19 goals, 36 assists).

Tjarnqvist was Dallas' third-round pick in 1999, but his progression was slowed when he missed the 2001-02 season in Finland because of a liver aliment. While it took some time for him to get back into playing shape last season, the right winger had 11 goals and 13 assists in 38 games for his Finnish league team, and scored four goals in the playoffs.

Los Angeles Kings: The team signed defenseman Denis Grebeshkov, their first-round pick in 2002, to a three-year contract.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Grebeshkov, 19, helped Yaroslavl win the Russian Super League championship last season. He had seven assists in 46 games.

"We are pleased to have Denis under contract with the Kings," said Kings general manager Dave Taylor. "He is a very intelligent player who moves the puck well from his defensive position and someone who has had a tremendous amount of success in Europe at a very young age. We look forward to continuing his development here in North America."

The 6-1, 195-pound Grebeshkov was also a member of the Russian National Junior Team that won gold medals at the 2002 and 2003 World Junior Championships.

The Kings on Tuesday also agreed to terms with defenseman Martin Strbak. He represented his native Slovakia at the 2003 World Hockey Championship earning a bronze medal with fellow Kings Ziggy Palffy and Lubomir Visnovsky.

Boston Bruins: The team signed defenseman Jonathan Girard and left wing Michal Grosek to one-year contracts on Tuesday.

Also, free agents Hal Gill, Brian Rolston and Bryan Berard filed for salary arbitration before Tuesday night's deadline, meaning the players will stay with the Bruins next season.

Girard was Boston's first pick in the 1998 Entry Draft and played his first full NHL season last year, scoring six goals and recording 16 assists.

Grosek signed as a free agent with Boston last year and had two goals and 18 assists in 63 games.

Columbus Blue Jackets: The Blue Jackets signed center Mark Hartigan to a one-year contract, and defenseman Alexander Gusjkov to a multiyear deal on Tuesday.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Hartigan was a finalist last year for the Hobey Baker award as the top player in college hockey. He split last season between the Atlanta Thrashers and the team's AHL affiliate in Chicago. He had five goals and two assists with the Thrashers and 15 goals and 31 assists with Chicago.

Gusjkov was selected by the Blue Jackets in the seventh round of this year's draft. He had 10 goals and 17 assists last season with Yaroslavl in the Russian Elite League.

Tampa Bay Lightning: The team signed defenseman Brad Lukowich and right wing Andre Roy to multi-year contracts.

Financial terms were not disclosed for Lukowich and Roy, who avoided arbitration.

Tampa Bay also signed right wing Evgeni Artukhin to a standard three-year rookie contract and re-signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Darren Rumble to a one-year deal.

Lukowich, acquired from Dallas before last season, had one goal and 14 assists in 70 games for Tampa Bay in his first campaign with the club. The hard-hitting Roy racked up 119 penalty minutes in 62 games.

A 2001 third-round pick, Artukhin had 13 goals and 27 assists last season while playing in juniors.

Rumble has bounced between the NHL and the minors since 1990-91, when he debuted with the Philadelphia Flyers. In 19 games with the Lightning last season, he collected six penalty minutes.

Toronto Maple Leafs: The team re-signed defenseman Ric Jackman on Tuesday after the 25-year-old appeared in 42 games last season.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Jackman had two assists last season and did not score a goal. He was not on Toronto's playoff roster. In eight games with St. John's of the American Hockey League, Jackman collected two goals and six assists.

Pittsburgh Penguins: The Penguins named former Montreal Canadiens coach Michel Therrien to guide their American Hockey League affiliate -- the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Therrien was fired as Canadiens coach on January 17, less than a year after leading them to the Eastern Conference semifinals. He had been working as a scout for the Canadiens since February.

"Michel's success as a head coach at all levels and his ability to communicate and work with young people makes him an ideal fit within our organization," said Penguins general manager Craig Patrick. "He has a tremendous record as a head coach in junior hockey, working primarily with young prospects."

Therrien, 39, posted a 77-91-22 record in parts of three seasons with Montreal. He led the Canadiens to an upset of top-seeded Boston in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals in 2001-02 before they fell to Carolina in the semifinals.

Therrien spent four seasons as a coach in the AHL with Fredericton and Quebec, compiling a 115-124-22 record, including a division title with Quebec in 1999-2000.