"Sergei Gonchar is coming to the Ottawa Senators.

The former Pittsburgh Penguins all star defenceman signed a three-year, $16.5 million deal on Thursday, only minutes after the league's unrestricted free agent period opened. Gonchar, 36, scored 11 goals and 39 assists for the Penguins last season.

The deal also includes a no-trade clause.

Senators general manager Bryan Murray has said that he wanted to club to become more mobile on defence and the Gonchar signing answers that question. The look of the club's defence will change dramatically as Gonchar will now effectively replace Anton Volchenkov."