ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Anaheim Ducks have signed veteran defenseman Francois Beauchemin to a three-year contract extension worth $10.5 million.

Anaheim announced the deal Friday, keeping Beauchemin off the free-agent market this summer.

Beauchemin is in his seventh full NHL season, playing briefly in Montreal and Columbus before a trade sent him to the Ducks in November 2005. He won the Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2007.

Beauchemin signed with Toronto as a free agent in 2009, but the Ducks reacquired Beauchemin on Feb. 9 last year, giving up high-scoring forward Joffrey Lupul and top prospect Jake Gardiner.

The 31-year-old Beauchemin is Anaheim's top-scoring defenseman this season with six goals and 12 assists. He scored two goals on Wednesday in the Ducks' sixth win in seven games after a miserable start.

The Ducks also recalled Mark Bell from their AHL affiliate in Syracuse, returning the veteran center to the NHL after nearly four years away.

The Ducks recalled Bell on Friday in advance of their meeting with Ottawa on Saturday. The power forward hasn't played in the NHL since April 5, 2008.

Bell played four strong seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks before they traded him to San Jose in 2006.

But Bell pleaded no contest to drunk driving after seriously injuring another motorist in a crash before his only season with the Sharks, and he was out of the NHL after one more season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

He has spent time in the AHL and in Switzerland's top league during the past four years. He has 13 points in 32 games with Syracuse.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.