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Q: With Mario Lemieux's comments about being insulted and upset with the latest Plan B proposal, I'm starting to place more blame on the Pens than the government. Could you explain to me why the Pens do not want to share the development rights and parking revenues? It only seems fair to me that if (slots-license recipient Don) Barden pays for X% of the new arena and the Pens pay for Y%, they should get X and Y% of the revenue. Why do the Pens expect to get all this revenue? Did their mothers not teach them to share? They are already getting the best deal of any Pennsylvania sports teams and, based on my novice opinion, if the Pens leave it will be their own fault and choice because they seem to have a perfectly fair deal in place.

David Lybarger, Indiana, Pa.

MOLINARI: The elected officials negotiating with the Penguins have to be delighted about how many people have embraced their cover-our-tails message about the relative merits of their latest proposal to finance an arena.

Perhaps what they've proposed really is the most lucrative deal ever offered to a professional team in this state (or anywhere else, for that matter). Maybe it isn't. The real question is, what difference does it make? The issue is this team, in this city, at this time, and how offers formulated by the state and local politicians compare to the one put forth by Kansas City. The particulars of stadium/arena deals negotiated by the Philadelphia Phillies or Dallas Mavericks or Minnesota Wild or any other team are of no consequence, in terms of how this situation will play out.

One critical fact the politicians ignore, at least in the public proclamations about how generous their offer is, is that very few franchises get to a point where they are just months removed from unrestricted free agency, which is what gives the Penguins the exceptional leverage they have in these negotiations. Of course, if the politicians -- or, in some cases, their predecessors -- hadn't ignored the arena issue for so many years, the negotiating field would have been a lot more level.

Mind you, the Penguins have had some public-relations gaffes, too. Asking the politicians to find ways to cover the $10 million fee they apparently will owe Isle of Capri if Pittsburgh gets a new arena and the franchise doesn't move makes perfect business sense -- it's all part of cutting the best possible deal -- but smacks of greed to many on the outside. Especially those who remember the Penguins' insistence that near-buyer Jim Balsillie owes them $10 million for calling off his proposed purchase of the team last month.

As for Barden's surprise appearance at last week's meeting, he didn't just walk in off the street. And because the Penguins didn't ask him to attend, it seems logical that he was there at the behest of the elected officials. Whether injecting him into the equation for parking revenues and development rights was simply addressing an oversight from the previous session or an attempt by the politicians to gain some sort of leverage in the talks -- or something entirely different -- isn't clear.

Nonetheless, while only the participants know precisely what went on during last week's session, the elected officials appeared to alter the framework -- or the Penguins' perception of the framework -- of an agreement that had been discussed two weeks earlier. And the Penguins' angry reaction, which was in such stark contrast to their public expressions of optimism earlier this month, made it clear that the change wasn't for the better, from their perspective. Like it or not, their perspective is the one that counts, because it's their call about where this franchise will be based.

If they decide that, from a business standpoint, the Kansas City offer clearly is superior, well, folks in the heartland are going to get to watch a terrific young team mature over the next few years. Pittsburgh figures to win any tiebreaker -- this is an established hockey market with proven fan support, so keeping the team here would be the easiest thing for the owners to do -- but it's far from certain that the politicians will make an offer that gets the city on even footing with Kansas City.

If the Penguins do leave, it will be interesting to see how great the backlash will be, and who it will target. If Barden is perceived, correctly or otherwise, by fans as a significant figure in the team's departure, his Majestic Star casino profits could take a bit of a hit. There already is at least one website dedicated to collecting signatures from people willing to pledge they "will never set foot" in Barden's casino if the Penguins move.

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Q: When we go into a shootout, we end up putting Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and some other player in. Why doesn't Michel Therrien put in Jordan Staal? He has the most shorthanded goals in the NHL, and Crosby has a 0-5 record in shootouts.

Kaitlyn Bigelow, Pittsburgh

MOLINARI: The "other player" tends to be Erik Christensen, the one Penguin who has been consistently successful in shootouts. He is 2-for-4 this season, 3-for-5 in his career. Not breathtaking numbers, perhaps, but Crosby, who is 2-for-11 in NHL shootouts, is the only other player in team history to score more than once.

Indeed, Ryan Whitney (1-2), Sergei Gonchar (1-3), Michel Ouellet (1-4) and Malkin (1-5) are the only other Penguins to score in a shootout since they were introduced last season. Nils Ekman, John LeClair, Konstantin Koltsov, Lasse Pirjeta, Andy Hilbert and Jani Rita all failed on their lone attempts, while Ryan Malone and Ziggy Palffy check in at 0-for-2 and Lemieux was 0-for-3.

If Therrien tinkers with his shootout rotation, Christensen is the one guy who absolutely should stay, and Staal should be at the top of the list of possible replacements. He has great reach and hand skills -- qualities that helped to make those five shorthanded goals of his possible -- and a decent record on penalty shots: Staal beat Columbus' Fredrik Norrena on Oct. 21 and was stopped by Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers Nov. 25.

Still, despite Staal's potential and the improbable success of a player like Jarkko Ruutu on penalty shots and in shootouts -- along with the miserable showing Crosby and Malkin have had in shootouts -- it's easy to understand why Therrien wouldn't be eager to remove the latter two from the mix. When you're dealing with players who have such extraordinary ability, it's hard to voluntarily turn them into spectators.

If, for example, the Penguins would lose their next shootout while Crosby watches it from the bench, no one would be surprised if Therrien beat himself up about that decision after the game. Especially after the way Crosby tortured Roberto Luongo, the brilliant Vancouver goaltender, during the all-star skills competition Tuesday.

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Q: There seems to be a lot of backlash from Pens fans in regard to Ryan Whitney's play. I think he is the best all-around defenseman on the team, and is playing, at worst, like an average No. 3 defenseman would on most teams. What is your opinion of Whitney's progress?

Sean Trageser, Carrick

MOLINARI: One can't help but wonder whether many of the harsh words about Whitney are coming from the same people who wanted the Penguins to trade Marc-Andre Fleury a year ago while they still could get something for him.

Because he is a big man who does not generally play big, Whitney always will be a target of criticism. The reality, though, is that he was a top-five draft choice because of his offensive talents, and it is his passing and shooting and attacking-zone instincts that make him part of the Penguins' nucleus.

Whitney's defensive play has improved steadily since he turned pro nearly three years ago, in large part because he has become more proficient at using his stick to break up passes and knock the puck away from opposing forwards.

He can -- and must -- get better all over the ice, but a reality that many people ignore is that defensemen and goalies generally need more time than forwards to become effective at this level. And because Whitney won't turn 24 until Feb. 19, there's no reason to think his development will plateau anytime soon.

Then again, perhaps the Penguins will decide any day now that they should trade Whitney while they still can get something for him.

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Q: Even if the Pens decide to move to Kansas City, isn't it possible that the NHL may block this move? I recall hearing about a clause in the NHL bylaws that states that if the reason a team was leaving a market was because of an outdated arena, it could only leave if a viable plan did not exist to replace it. As more details of Plan B are released, I think that it would certainly be considered viable, even if the Pens don't think it is the best. So could the Pens say they are moving to Kansas City just to be told they can't move and have to stay in Pittsburgh?

David Archer, Pittsburgh

MOLINARI: The NHL has the authority to pretty much tell any member team what it can and cannot do; after all, it's the NHL's league. So, yes, the bylaws give it the authority to prevent a move, if it deems such action appropriate.

But that certainly doesn't guarantee that Commissioner Gary Bettman and the Board of Governors will step in and order the Penguins to stay if the team doesn't like the final version of the arena-funding proposal. The NHL definitely wants the Penguins to remain here, if only to preserve other markets for future expansions, but some members of the BOG might be reluctant to kill a planned relocation. After all, if their franchises end up in a similar situation at some point, the precedent set by forcing the Penguins to remain in Pittsburgh could work against them in negotiations when it's their team's future at stake.

Bettman and other NHL executives have avoided direct involvement in the Penguins' negotiations to this point, and the guess here is that Lemieux and his partners will have the final say on what constitutes a "viable" proposal. It would not be surprising, however, to see Bettman intervene if talks bog down as the time for a decision nears.

As for Gov. Ed Rendell's on-again, off-again pledge to take the issue to the league if the Penguins don't accept whatever the final version of Plan B proves to be, he might want to think hard about doing that. Going to the NHL could, in theory, save this region's NHL franchise, but it also could lead to the league seconding the Penguins' assessment that the local offer was inadequate.

That kind of independent evaluation from a party that repeatedly has expressed a desire to have the franchise stay here would vaporize the public-relations cover some elected officials have spent a lot of time constructing.

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Q: All this talk about Therrien being fired makes me sad. I think this guy is a great coach and has proven that he can win. I don't agree with everything he does, but I also know that he knows what is going on.

Kevin, South Park

MOLINARI: You don't say where "all this talk" about Therrien losing his job is coming from, but it isn't Ray Shero. That doesn't mean Therrien should plan on having a job here for the rest of his natural life, but he has done nothing during his 13-plus months behind the Penguins' bench to merit his removal.

While it's hard to say how much of a shelf life he will have with the Penguins -- Therrien's style grates on some players and he, like most coaches, makes personnel (not using Crosby to kill penalties) and tactical (employing more than two sets of forwards during overtime) decisions that invite second-guessing -- pro hockey is a bottom-line business, and the Penguins' numbers have improved dramatically since he replaced Eddie Olczyk as coach.

Especially the one that matters most: Points. The Penguins already have 50, just eight fewer than they earned in all of 2005-06. Now, a significant improvement was expected, because having the second-worst record in the league doesn't set the bar at an acceptable level, but Therrien has the Penguins in contention for their first playoff berth since 2001.

Some of that is because young players like Crosby, Fleury and Whitney are continuing to develop, and because talents such as Staal and Malkin have been grafted onto the lineup. But the Penguins have benefited from the structured style of play and accountability Therrien introduced when he took over, and he deserves some of the credit for the progress the team has made.

Shero undoubtedly would have preferred to hire his own coach -- how many management people in any business wouldn't want to pick their immediate subordinates? -- but has to be satisfied with where the Penguins stand coming out of the all-star break.

That doesn't mean he'll always see Therrien as the right guy to run the bench as the Penguins continue to evolve into a Stanley Cup contender, but replacing him now would be a major blunder. And if Shero eventually would decide that, for whatever reason, a change is necessary, the pool of qualified successors is a whole lot bigger during the off-season than it is in late January.

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Q: With the trading deadline approaching, I understand that Ray Shero is kept to a tight budget. Do you think the Penguins would consider offering their first-round pick for an impact player? With all the young talent and possible cap problems re-signing them in the future, it might help then and now.

Larry, New York City

MOLINARI: That probably depends on who the impact player is. If Washington is looking to unload, say, Alexander Ovechkin for a mid-round No. 1, Shero undoubtedly would be happy to chat about it with George McPhee, his Capitals counterpart. That's not going to happen, though, so there's very little reason to believe the Penguins will do anything as rash as deal away a first-rounder.

With liberalized free agency, most teams seem intent on hoarding as many "assets" -- a relatively new catch-word used to describe quality players and prospects -- as possible, and that would seem to mitigate against trading away a high draft choice for a relatively short-term payoff.

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Q: What does "E.F.G.T" on the back of Fleury's helmet stand for?

Tom Crawford, Bethel Park

MOLINARI: They are the first initials of his late grandparents -- Estelle, Francois, Gaston and Therese.