PITTSBURGH - Veteran goaltender Jocelyn Thibault signed a two-year, $3 million contract Wednesday with the Pittsburgh Penguins after they acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks for a fourth-round pick in next year's draft.

Thibault, 30, became expendable to the Blackhawks after they signed Stanley Cup-winning goalie Nikolai Khabibulin to a four-year, $27 million deal on Friday that made him the NHL's highest-paid goaltender.

"Jocelyn brings a wealth of experience to our goaltending corps and will help us tremendously as we move forward," Penguins general manager Craig Patrick said.

Thibault didn't immediately return a request for comment left with his agent, Bob Sauve.

The Penguins initially sought Tuesday to sign Sean Burke, who at 38 is eight years older than Thibault, to the same deal they later gave Thibault. Burke signed instead with 2004 Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay to replace Khabibulin, getting $3.2 million over two years.

Thibault has played in 536 NHL games, with a 2.69 goals-against average, 36 shutouts and a 227-217-68 record. He has played in more than 60 games in four of his last five seasons, all with Chicago. Thibault played for Quebec, Colorado and Montreal before being traded to the Blackhawks during the 1998-99 season.

"Jocelyn is a class act and did a lot for our organization," Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon said in a statement Wednesday. "We're happy to be able to get a deal done and we're happy that he's going to a good situation in Pittsburgh. He'll do quite well for them, we wish him all the best. It was strictly a business decision."

The Penguins have been shopping for another veteran goaltender to complement the unproven Marc-Andre Fleury, the No. 1 pick in the 2003 entry draft, and their other young goalie, Sebastien Caron.

Thibault is the Penguins' fourth acquisition since the NHL resolved its labor dispute. He joins defenseman Sergei Gonchar, who signed a $25 million, five-year contract; forward Ziggy Palffy, who gets $13.5 million over three years; and enforcer-style forward Andre Roy, who will make $3 million over three years.

The Penguins are hoping to reverse a pattern of three consecutive losing seasons and falling attendance - they were last in the league in 2003-04 in both the overall standings and attendance - by adding to a nucleus of owner-player Mario Lemieux and veteran forward Mark Recchi. The Penguins also added No. 1 draft pick Sidney Crosby, who is making his first visit to Pittsburgh this week.

The Penguins also have another top prospect in forward Evgeni Malkin, last year's No. 2 pick who is signed to play this season for a Russian team. The Penguins want to add him this season if a deal allowing European players under contract to sign with NHL teams can be reached. Currently, the Russian and Czech hockey federations are refusing to recognize such an agreement reached between the NHL and the International Ice Hockey Federation.

Fleury began the 2003-04 season as the Penguins' starting goalie and showed flashes of the talent that led him to be a No. 1 draft pick. He played just 21 games for the Penguins - not enough to kick in a succession of bonus clauses that would have substantially boosted his salary - and he spent most of that season with Cape Breton of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Canada's junior national team.

Fleury went 4-14-2 with a 3.64 goals-against average for the Penguins. Caron played in 64 games with Pittsburgh in 2002-03 and 2003-04, going 16-38-7 with a 3.31 goals-against average.