PITTSBURGH - Restricted free agent forward Rico Fata has agreed to a new multiyear contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins following a disappointing season.

Fata, 24, picked up in an eight-player late-season trade with the New York Rangers in 2003, made about $715,000 last season. Under union rules, the Penguins had to offer him offer him at least a 10 percent raise.

Also on Thursday, center Lasse Pirjeta, acquired in a late-season trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Brian Holzinger, agreed to a new contract.

Fata, part of a February 2003 deal that sent All-Star Alexei Kovalev to the Rangers, finished fifth on the team in scoring with 34 points and tied for third in goals (16) but otherwise had a forgettable year with a minus-46 rating.

Pirjeta performed well after the Penguins picked him up from Columbus. He had six goals and six assists in 13 games with the Penguins after the March trade.

Pirjeta, a 30-year-old Finnish player, played 57 games for the Blue Jackets before the trade, and had just two goals and eight assists.