Third in a flurry of free agent signings this week, the Ottawa Senators announced the signing of prospect Cody Bass to a one-year, two-way contract. Rumours are that the deal comes with an NHL salary of $500k (h/t to @thejpiga and @TomSENS) .

At just about league minimum, this is about as good as the deal can get for Ottawa. Much of the negotiation between Bass and the organization likely surrounded what he would make in the AHL (rumoured to be $70k). Although he's been penciled into an NHL roster spot for a few seasons now, injuries and his two-way contract have restricted his big-league numbers: It's been a steady decline from 21GP in his rookie season to 12GP in 2008-09, and none last season. If he does get any games in the upcoming season, it'll likely be spot duty on the fourth line, and he'll be in tough against guys like Zack Smith and even Corey Cowick, both of whom have similar toughness but are better offensively.