The free agent signing period was a little quieter this year than in most seasons, but of the relatively few contracts that were signed there were a few moves that could make a difference. At least that’s what the general managers who signed the players want to believe.

Marc-Andre Fleury will be the number one goalie in Bratislava after signing a two-year deal.

The highest ranked player to move to another team after type 3 signings Sunday night was Marc-Andre Fleury, who was signed by the Bratislava Eagles. The Slovakia-based team has evolved into an offensive dynamo of sorts, led by the line of Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Tyler Ennis. They were third in the league in goals per game, with only Paris and Edinburgh scoring more goals. But they had their problems at the other end of the rink.  Only six teams gave up more goals than the Eagles did last season, when Corey Crawford and Craig Anderson were the goalies. When he was with Athens, Crawford was given one year to prove himself … then he sat the bench for most of the next two seasons as a backup. When he was signed by Bratislava before Season 4, the same thing seems to have happened: He was given a year to prove himself and is now  penciled in as the backup to Fleury. “The Flower” had a 90.2 save percentage in his fourth season as the London Dons’ top goalie and he has a lifetime save percentage of 89.6. He has only played in 5 playoff games. Even with Fleury, Bratislava is still worried about goals against due the surprising retirement of captain Zdeno Chara in the off season.

Tomas Fleischmann, a 31-year-old Czech winger coming off three seasons in Copenhagen will be expected to convert Henrik Sedin passes into goals now as a member of the Munich Dire Wolf. The two veterans could have rookie Filip Forsberg on the left side of their line. Fleischmann is a two-time 30-goal scorer and has earned a $5.2 million contract for up to 3 seasons.

Thomas Vanek and Jason Spezza had the biggest salary raises on Sunday.

Vanek signed a $9 million deal to play in Helsinki this season. The Jokerit have long been known as a rugged, tough defensive team lacking in offense. Vanek will add a big chunk of offense to the team formula. Although his best season saw him get only 26 goals and 67 points, he is considered a real threat to score.  Helsinki GM Trevor Grimm is hoping Vanek will work well with Alexander Radulov and Paul Stastny and give Helsinki a forward line that can come up with goals on a regular basis. Vanek has played for Oslo, Geneva and Milan in his EURO career.

Spezza, who tore up the league in Season 1 as a Bern Bear, just joined his second team. He signed a $9 million, one-year  contract with Prague. The Siamese Cats will look scary down the middle with Ryan Getzlaf, Spezza and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins centering the top three lines. Spezza has four seasons of 80 or more points on his resume.

Another star forward signed with a new team Sunday, but for a lot less money. Patrick Marleau, 36, who has a EURO Cup on his resume, left Geneva after four years and joined Gothenburg for a little more than $5 million for up to 2 years. Marleau’s production numbers have been going down, but he is still talented with a puck and is a good leader in the dressing room.

The best defenseman available, Andrei Markov, heads from Moscow to Oslo. The Russian is known for his good shot and offensive ability. His second season in the league saw a drop in production from 53 to 34 points.

The Bern Bears signed more players than any other team on Sunday. They inked defensemen Anton Babchuk, Johnny Boychuk and Matt Hunwick, and forwards Andrei Kostitsyn and Patrick Eaves to deals. The defense signings seem to be a bad sign for current Bear blueliners Ron Hainsey, Mike Lundin and Kevan Miller. All three might have just moved out of the top 6 on the depth chart. Kostitsyn will see a lot of ice time for the Bears after scoring a career-high 60 points last season with Edinburgh, his only EURO team in four seasons. Eaves is another story. He has yet to play a EURO League game but on the right wing of Bern’s roster, he has a chance at fourth-line duty. He Jack Skille and rookie Kjetil Martinssen seem to be all about the same caliber.

Geneva signed a pair of players in defenseman Nicklas Grossman and veteran winger Erik Cole. Grossman is on his fourth team and he has a chance to earn full-time minutes for the first time since Season 1 when he played for the Minsk Hussars. He has since been a reserve player for Copenhagen and Edinburgh. It looks like he will team with Karel Rachunek on the second pairing or with Jordan Leopold on the third pairing. Cole is not the player he was in Season 1 when he scored 94 points and 38 goals and was an all-star. His numbers in his four seasons at St. Petersburg  have dwindled to 22 points and 8 goals last season. The vet should get more ice time on the Generals than he did with the Red Stars last season.

Lisbon (formerly Frankfurt) also signed two players in forwards Kyle Brodziak and David Legwand. Brodziak has been with Bratislava his whole career but was unhappy with the reduced ice time he saw in Season 4. The year before, Brodziak posted his best-ever point  (57) and goal (26) totals. Legwand, once a St. Petersburg Red Star, returns to his Season 4 team with whom he scored 14 goals and 34 points.

Copenhagen signed Josh Holden and Chris Higgins. That gives them both Holdens because they already play Nick Holden on defense. Josh, a slick passing former Smurf, looks to be the third-line center on the Tridents this season. Higgins, who helped Moscow grab the Cup in Season 3, is on his fourth team in five years and the solid two-way forward will definitely get good ice time, probably on the second or third line as he competes with Nathan Gerbe, Andrew Cogliano and Martin Erat for ice.

Lee Stempniak will also battle for second or third line duty as a wing on the Madrid Royals. The 32-year-old American signed a two-year deal with a team option.

London signed Jiri Hudler, who has played in Belfast, Zurich and Geneva. He looks to be a depth signing and isn’t likely to get major ice time on a team loaded with fast-skating, skilled young forwards.

The Athens Greeks made their fans happy by resigning hometown favorite Dimitrios Kalyvas to a long-term deal. The 32-year-old forward had an off year last season after a monster Season 3 in which he scored 70 points. In Season 4, Kalyvas managed just 33 points. But the Greeks  invited him back, agreeing to pay him just under $3 million for up to four seasons. Kalyvas is considered a decent leader and management and fans like his attitude and work in the community.