The Washington Capitals have signed free agent defenseman Brian Pothier to a four-year contract.

In keeping with club policy, financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Pothier spent the past four seasons in the Ottawa Senators' organization, recording 35 points (five goals, 30 assists) in 77 games in 2005-06, his best NHL season.

He finished second among Senators' defensemen in assists and fourth in points, while his +29 plus/minus rating was tied for third on the team and fifth among all NHL defensemen. Three of his five goals came on the power play.

The seventh-year professional from New Bedford, Mass., has played 182 NHL games with Ottawa and Atlanta. Pothier signed as a free agent with the Thrashers after a standout four-year college career at Rensselaer and made his NHL debut in his first professional season.