TORONTO – Center Brooks Laich and defenseman Shaone Morrisonn of the Washington Capitals were among 15 players who elected to take their teams to salary arbitration, the NHL Players’ Association said Saturday.

The only other club to have two players go that route were the Minnesota Wild, who are set to have hearings with forwards Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Stephane Veilleux.

Joining them were defenseman Dennis Wideman of the Boston Bruins; Carolina forward Chad LaRose; right winger Marek Svatos of the Colorado Avalanche; Florida defenseman Jay Bouwmeester; New York Islanders forward Sean Bergenheim; newly acquired center Dan Fritsche of the New York Rangers; Ottawa forward Antoine Vermette; St. Louis center Jay McClement; forward Marcel Goc of the San Jose Sharks; Detroit center Valtteri Filppula; and Nashville defenseman Ville Koistinen.

The deadline for teams to decide to take players to salary arbitration is Sunday. Hearings will be held from July 20-Aug. 4.

Penguins sign Cooke to replace Ruutu

PITTSBURGH – Free agent forward Matt Cooke signed a two-year contract with Pittsburgh on Saturday, replacing Jarkko Ruutu as the Penguins’ primary agitator. The Penguins also offered Ruutu a two-year contract earlier this week but he signed a three-year deal with the Ottawa Senators after free agent bidding began.

The 5-foot-11, 205-pound Cooke had 10 goals, 13 assists and 91 penalty minutes in 78 games with the Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals last season. Cooke, a left winger who usually plays on the penalty-killing unit, was acquired by Washington at the trade deadline for left winger Matt Pettinger.

Ruutu had six goals, 10 assists and 138 penalty minutes in 71 games with Pittsburgh and added two goals and an assist in 20 playoff games

Cooke, who will turn 30 before next season begins, has 86 goals, 124 assists and 652 penalty minutes in 583 career games with Vancouver and Washington.