Sure, you'll hear about every little move made by touted rookie Sidney Crosby. And you'll be able to closely monitor player/owner Mario Lemieux.

You're also going to be bombarded with something else concerning the Penguins in the coming weeks, and it concerns the franchise's long-term status.

The team will be launching a public information campaign in the hopes of increasing its chances of getting the region's license for a stand-alone slots parlor. The idea is to use the proceeds from the casino to build a new venue to replace outdated Mellon Arena.

The team will submit its application for the slots license in December.

"Before that, we will be going public very heavily with what our proposal is," team president Ken Sawyer said. "It will be all about a new arena at little or no cost to the taxpayers, and a major inner-city redevelopment on the old site.

"And, of course, keeping the team here."

The Penguins' lease at Mellon Arena runs out after the 2006-07 season, leaving them free to relocate.

The team has been saying since it emerged from bankruptcy in 1999 that it needs a new arena if it is going to continue to call Pittsburgh home. Part of the approved bankruptcy plan included a promise from local officials for a new arena by 2007, but that hasn't materialized.

So the slots license and ensuing revenue have become the team's ticket to staying here and staying solvent.

Although the public won't have a direct say in who gets the slots license sought by the Penguins, the team hopes that strong support will have some influence in Harrisburg.

"We want this to be a level playing field," Sawyer said. "We think the stakes are very high. The risk is that some other market tries to woo us away, and, if we don't have a new arena, it's going to be pretty hard for our investment group not to accept something like that. We want to avoid that.

"If we get a level playing field, we think our bid will be the best because it will result in the team staying and a brand-new building."

Lemieux said at the start of training camp that with a $30 million payroll and the limited revenue opportunities afforded by Mellon Arena, the Penguins expect to lose $7 million this season even if they sell out all their home games and reach the second round of the playoffs,

Operating at a loss this season is part of a strategy that includes revenue from a slots casino and a new arena in the future.

"I feel good about it," Sawyer said. "I just wish we were in the new arena now, but there are a lot of events in the last few years -- including the work stoppage [that wiped out the 2004-05 season] -- that didn't help our cause in getting a new arena."