The Penguins yesterday filed for salary arbitration with goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, a move that gives the club more time to negotiate a long-term deal with him.

Had the Penguins not filed for salary arbitration Fleury could have become a restricted free agent July 1. By filing, the Penguins extend their exclusive negotiating time with Fleury by a month or more.

Arbitration hearings are set by the National Hockey League and take place between July 20 and Aug. 4. The Penguins are free to continue negotiating with Fleury between now and then.

"By filing for salary arbitration it gives us extra time to negotiate with Marc-Andre," Penguins general manager Ray Shero said. "As a result of the filing, Penguins fans are assured Marc-Andre will be under contract with our club next season. We remain committed to negotiating a contract with him in the near future."

Fleury's agent, Allan Walsh, expected the Penguins to make such a move.

"It really doesn't surprise me," Walsh said. "The only reason a club would file at this point is to protect them from another club offering a Group 2 offer sheet. If another club were to sign him to an offer sheet after July 1, it would put the Penguins in a very difficult position. It was within their rights under the [collective bargaining agreement]. It really gives us between now and [July] 20 to get something done."

In the event that the two sides cannot get a contract completed before arbitration a few details about the arbitration process are worth noting.

• Terms of the arbitrator's award are final and binding and cannot be changed once the ruling is made.

• Because the Penguins requested the arbitration they must abide by the arbitrator's ruling. Had Fleury asked for arbitration, the Penguins would have had the option to accept or decline the arbitrator's award.

• Once the ruling is made, Fleury will determine whether the contract will be for one or two years.

• A team can only take a player to arbitration once in his career.

Shero and Walsh have begun preliminary discussions about a long-term deal with Fleury, who is looking for a raise from a contract that paid him $1.6 million this past season.

"The talks are at a very preliminary basis," Walsh said. "We're identifying terms and we're identifying a framework to work from. We have not exchanged numbers in any detail. What has been made very clear from both sides is that we both want to work out a long-term deal."

Walsh said he and Shero are expected to speak in more detail about contract terms next week before the NHL draft, which begins next Saturday.

Shero has other pressing needs to attend to in addition to Fleury. Eleven players, including Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone and Brooks Orpik, will become unrestricted free agents July 1. Malone's agent, Mike Liut, said earlier this week that he had begun preliminary discussions with Shero about a new contract.

Hossa's agent, Ritch Winter, said earlier this week that he and Shero also have had discussions but declined to elaborate. Lewis Gross, the agent for Orpik, could not be reached for comment.