Lightning Deal Mezsaros to Flyers, Extend St. Louis Four More Years

Free agency might be about signing players, but trades are sure to go down, too. One was struck between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers, where new GM Steve Yzerman moved defenseman Andrej Meszaros and the four years, $18.5 million remaining on his contract to the Flyers for a second round pick.

A decent all-around defenseman, the Flyers might not be thrilled with the fact that he hasn't as physical a player as his size would indicate. But being unable to re-sign Dan Hamhuis, Meszaros isn't a terrible No. 2 play. The second rounder might be much and the $4 million cap hit is not great one for Philly, though.

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One player is sent away by Yzerman, another is kept for a longer period of time. In his second big move of the day, Yzerman signed right wing Martin St. Louis to a four-year extension that, added with the one year remaining on his current deal, will have him donning the Bolt until 2016. TSN's James Duthie tweet that the extension is worth $22.5 million over four years, which averages out to $5.625 million per season. St. Louis will earn $4 million next season with a $5.25 million cap hit.

Even with Steven Stamkos emerging as the Lightnings' top offensive threat, St. Louis is a key piece to their scoring puzzle. He is a former 48-goal scorer who still possess 30-goal ability (was just one off the mark last season.) And skating with Stamkos has granted him great setup opportunities, as well, boasting a career-high 65 assists last season.

At 35 years old, this should be the final contract of St. Louis' career.