Moran, LaCouture and Tibbetts agree to contracts

The Penguins continued to whittle away at free agency Tuesday, reaching agreements on new contracts for defenseman/forward Ian Moran and forwards Dan LaCouture and Bill Tibbetts.

Moran, 28, received a two-year deal worth $700,000 in 2001-02 and $750,000 in 2002-03.

LaCouture, 24, accepted a one-year qualifying offer of $574,750, a 10-percent increase over what he made this season.

Tibbetts, 26, will earn a 10-percent raise to $583,038 on a one-year, two-way deal that will pay him $60,000 as a minor-leaguer.

'We're accomplishing things,' general manager Craig Patrick said. 'We'll keep at it.'

By agreeing to terms with Moran, the Penguins managed to reduce by one the number of players they have eligible for salary arbitration, which runs from Aug. 1-15. Forward Jan Hrdina's hearing is scheduled for Aug. 2 and will be followed by sessions for center Robert Lang (Aug. 5), winger Martin Straka (Aug. 8), winger Alexei Kovalev (Aug. 12) and defenseman Darius Kasparaitis (Aug. 15).

A potential resolution with Hrdina remains his being sent to Washington for winger Dainius Zubrus, assuming what Hrdina is granted in arbitration is agreeable to the Capitals.

Since arbitration involves a player arguing for one salary and a team trying to convince a neutral third party the player deserves much less, most teams prefer to avoid the process.

Patrick subscribes to that theory but doesn't consider avoiding arbitration something the Penguins must do at all costs.

'It's not life or death,' he said. 'If we go (to arbitration), we go. We'd like to settle everything in advance, but if we don't, we don't.'

'We worked together on it and were able to come to an agreement that saved us all the aggravation of arbitration,' said Moran's agent, Steve Bartlett.

With the recent trade of Jaromir Jagr, Moran is the ranking member of the Penguins in terms of continuous service to the organization.

'Yes, I am, which is kind of baffling,' Moran said. 'I guess because I can play different positions (forward or defense) it gives management and the coaches some options. And I don't get paid a ton of money, which doesn't scare them away.'

Moran, a sixth-round pick in 1990, made his Penguins and NHL debut by appearing in four playoff games at the conclusion of the 1994-95 season and has played for the Penguins in each subsequent season since then. Straka (in 1992-93) and winger Kevin Stevens (in 1987-88) made their Penguins debuts earlier than Moran but were traded away before eventually being reacquired (Straka in 1997-98; Stevens last season).

Moran's next regular-season game will be his 300th in the NHL. He appeared in 40 games last season, registering three goals, four assists, seven points and 28 penalty minutes. Moran, 6-foot and 206 pounds, managed an assist and four penalty minutes in 18 playoff games. He has 17 goals, 29 assists, 46 points and 181 penalty minutes in 299 career regular-season games, and one goal, six assists, seven points and 20 penalty minutes in 61 career playoff appearances.

After having played on the wing and as a defenseman in recent seasons, Moran, a Cleveland native and a Boston College product, anticipates reporting to training camp in September as 'a hockey player.

'I haven't talked to anybody, but I would guess with losing Bougie (defenseman Bob Boughner) and (defenseman Janne) Laukkanen being hurt, I'd probably be playing defense,' Moran said. 'But it's a long time until then.'

Boughner signed with Calgary as an unrestricted free agent and Laukkanen suffered an off-season knee injury that will keep him sidelined until mid-November, Patrick has estimated.

LaCouture was acquired on March 14 from Edmonton for defenseman Sven Butenschon as a result of the Penguins 'looking to the future,' Patrick said. LaCouture produced two goals, four assists and six points in 43 regular-season games (no points and 14 penalty minutes in 11 regular-season games as a Penguins player) and was scoreless in five playoff games (two penalty minutes). Originally a second-round pick of the New York Islanders in 1996, LaCouture, 6-3, 210 pounds, made his NHL debut with Edmonton in 1998-99 after being acquired for Mariusz Czerkawski in 1997 (LaCouture was scoreless in three games in 1998-99 and again in five games in 1999-00).

A native of Hyannis, Mass., LaCouture played his college hockey at Boston University and is envisioned as a third- or fourth-line forward with the Penguins.

'He's a big, strong guy that can skate,' Patrick said.

Tibbetts, 6-2, 175, had one goal, two assists, three points and 79 penalty minutes as a rookie this season and didn't appear in the playoffs.

A native of Boston, Tibbetts was signed as a free agent in April of 2000.