Lightning sign defenseman Brett Clark

Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman wasted little time jumping back into the free-agent pool on Monday following a quiet holiday weekend.

Tampa Bay signed veteran defenseman Brett Clark to a two-year contract Monday worth $3 million, which includes a $400,000 signing bonus this season and a base salary of $1.3 million each year for an annual salary cap hit of $1.5 million. It's the third unrestricted free agent Yzerman has signed since the market opened Thursday, joining defenseman Pavel Kubina and goaltender Dan Ellis.

Clark, 33, spent the past eight seasons in the Colorado organization, including the past five with the Avalanche. In 517 career NHL games, Clark has 34 goals, 105 assists and 259 penalty minutes. His best season came in 2006-07 when he appeared in all 82 games with Colorado, scoring 10 goals and 39 points. Last season the 6-foot-1, 195-pound native of Wapella, Saskatchewan, had three goals and 20 points in 64 games while appearing in one of Colorado's playoff games, frequently sitting out last year as a healthy scratch.

"He's an understated guy, he plays the game efficiently, he's an intelligent hockey player that passes the puck well and a good decision-maker," Yzerman said of Clark. "I just think he'll be a nice complement for our defensive corps as a good, solid, steady and reliable defenseman."

With a strong skating ability and capacity for moving the puck, Clark seems like a right fit for the up-tempo style of play new coach Guy Boucher wants to play. Clark said he's looking forward to the change.

"When I looked around, there were some teams, but I just thought with the situation going on, who they have brought in, what direction they are going, I felt it was a perfect fit for me ... that's what Tampa thought as well, so it seems to be a good match," said Clark, who made $3.5 million last season in the final year of a three-year contract. "It's going to be an exciting change, and with the style of play they want to play there, it's going to be entertaining.

On Thursday, Yzerman traded defenseman Andrej Meszaros, who has four years left on his contract, to the Philadelphia Flyers for a 2012 second-round draft pick. The move was quickly followed by the announcement of a four-year, $22.5 million contract extension for Marty St. Louis. Later in the day, former Nashville goaltender Ellis was signed to a two-year contract worth $3 million.