Penguins Sign Moran to 2-year, $1.5 Million Deal Tuesday July 24, 2001 4:07 PM PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday ended salary talks with one of six players who filed for arbitration, signing defenseman Ian Moran to a two-year, $1.5 million deal. Moran, who saw limited ice time last season because of injuries, is the first of six Penguins free agents in salary arbitration to sign. The others are defenseman Darius Kasparaitis, and forwards Alexei Kovalev, Martin Straka, Jan Hrdina and Robert Lang. Moran, who has played with the Penguins since 1990, had seven points and 28 penalty minutes in 40 games last season. Pittsburgh also signed Dan LaCouture, picked up from the Edmonton Oilers in a trade for little-used defenseman Sven Butenschon in March. The 24-year-old left wing from Hyannis, Mass., who spent most of his pro career with Edmonton's AHL farm club in Hamilton, Ontario, went scoreless in 11 games for the Penguins last season. He had two goals, four assists and 29 penalty minutes in 37 games with the Oilers last season.
