" The Panthers signed defenseman Keaton Ellerby to a one-year deal on Wednesday. The contract includes a one-way clause making it tougher for the Panthers to send Ellerby to the minors next season. Ellerby played in 54 games with the Panthers last season – a career high – but also spent 17 games with Florida's AHL affiliate in Rochester, N.Y. Ellerby, the 10th-overall pick in the 2007 draft, says he is "super excited" about the new contract as he is the first of Florida's eight restricted free agents to sign. Ellerby, 22, is not eligible to become an unrestricted free agent until after the 2015-16 season. "It's huge to get the one-way,'' Ellerby said from British Columbia. Ellerby spent Tuesday night at Vancouver's Rogers Arena watching the Canucks' overtime victory over Chicago courtesy of former teammate Chris Higgins. "It's nice to put the AHL in the rear view mirror. This is the year we're going to make the playoffs and I'm excited and appreciative of [GM] Dale Tallon and [assistant GM] Mike Santos for giving me what my agent and I were looking for.'' Ellerby played a much bigger role with the Panthers this season than he did in 2009-10 when he was called up and played sparingly by coach Pete DeBoer. Ellerby's offseason work was praised by DeBoer and his confidence in playing Ellerby showed. Ellerby, who came into training camp 20 pounds heavier than when he left, says he's going to follow the same offseason regimen as he did in 2010." Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/27/2188819/florida-panthers-sign-keaton-ellerby.html
