Click here to submit your question

Q: A lot of articles out of Montreal detail Alex Kovalev's desire to leave Montreal and the Canadiens' disappointment with his performance. They are questioning his attitude and dedication toward the end of the season. Even though these reports are concerning, I have to admit I would love to see him back with the Penguins. He could fill a huge hole at right wing and be yet another dangerous weapon on the power play. Do you think the Pens should/will make any inquiries about a trade?

Matt Mitchetree, Imperial

MOLINARI: Kovalev is one of the great pure talents in recent NHL history, and no city has a greater passion for the game -- or appreciation for those who excel at it -- than Montreal. At first blush, that would seem to suggest Kovalev had the potential to become something akin to a living legend there. Nice idea, but it proved to be one not even remotely connected to reality.

Aside from a surge of brilliance during the 2004 playoffs, Kovalev's performance for the Canadiens has been pretty ordinary -- he had 18 goals, 29 assists and a plus-minus rating of minus-18 in 2006-07 -- and he's suffered several public-relations setbacks, the latest of which focused on complaints about the way he has been treated by the team. In light of all that, the Canadiens probably wouldn't balk at a chance to shed his contract, which will pay Kovalev $4.5 million in each of the next two seasons.

Whether they'll find a taker, especially when the salary cap is a major consideration in personnel moves for most teams, is another matter. And intriguing as the idea of Kovalev returning to the Penguins might be, the hard realities are that he's 34 years old and has averaged just over 18 goals in each of his past three NHL seasons. That's not much of a return on the money he's being paid, and there would be an obvious risk in expecting him to return to his previous form.

Kovalev had his most productive and satisfying seasons with the Penguins -- he put up career bests in goals (44), assists (51) and points (95) in 2000-01 -- but was sent to the New York Rangers Feb. 10, 2003, in a blatant salary dump. (Or because, as then-GM Craig Patrick explained it at the time, the Penguins had a better chance of reaching the playoffs with Rico Fata, Mike Samuelsson, Richard Lintner and Joel Bouchard in their lineup than they did with Kovalev.)

They had a chance to bring him back after the lockout ended in 2005, but Patrick dragged his feet during the early days of free agency and Kovalev, who clearly wanted to play for the Penguins again, ended up re-signing with Montreal, which has not worked out to the satisfaction -- or benefit -- of either party. Whether things would have turned out differently for Kovalev and the Penguins if they had actively pursued him instead of going after, say, Ziggy Palffy, will never be known. But even if Patrick's approach then was a mistake, it probably isn't one the Penguins should try to correct now.

Q: Do you believe that the dominating performance by the Senators against the Penguins in the playoffs will have a more profound benefit to the team than if it had won the first round or had performed competitively and mistakenly believed it was already a championship-caliber team? Also, it appears that championship-caliber teams have the talent, depth or ability to play at a different level when it comes to the playoffs and don't necessarily play at that level during the season; they save themselves for the playoffs and go into a second or third gear when required. Based on this hypothesis, have the Penguins learned this lesson and do you think they will be able to play more competitively in the playoffs next year having acquired this knowledge?

Kevin Duda, Bridgeville

MOLINARI: The people charged with assembling a contender at Mellon Arena are more tuned in to the Penguins' strengths and soft spots than anyone who roots for -- or writes about -- them, and thus presumably would not have been deluded by the Penguins upsetting Ottawa in the first round. (Something that hardly seemed out of the question a month ago, given the Penguins' individual talent and the Senators' legacy of playoff flops.) Similarly, no one should expect general manager Ray Shero and his staff to blow up their depth chart and start over just because the Senators dominated the Penguins for most of the series.

And while there's no question that the teams that succeed in the playoffs are the ones that perform above the level they reached during the regular season, that should not be interpreted as evidence that those clubs "save themselves" for the postseason. Fact is, the clich?? about teams not being able to turn it on and off at will is rooted in reality, and a team that coasts at times during the regular season might discover that it's unable to elevate its game back to the level it had reached previously, let alone one that's required for success during the postseason.

That good teams raise the caliber of their play when the playoffs arrive is not an indictment of their approach to the regular season, but a reflection of how a best-of-seven series adds an urgency that can't be replicated in most regular-season settings. Successful teams react to that kind of pressure with a commitment and focus that couldn't be sustained over six-plus months, but can be for a series that lasts 10 days or two weeks. (It's not easy, of course, but winning a Cup isn't supposed to be.)

The Senators might be the best example of that in recent years. Ottawa has, in previous seasons, had more skilled lineups that the one it is employing now, but never have the Senators performed with the purpose they have shown this spring in defeating the Penguins and pushing New Jersey to the brink of elimination. Talent remains an important part of the equation, of course -- and Ray Emery still hasn't established that he's a goaltender with whom a team can win a championship -- but the value of the intangibles Ottawa has shown during the past three-plus weeks should not be discounted.

Q: As a mobile, right-handed defenseman, could Micki DuPont find a place with the parent club next season if management decides Kristopher Letang needs some time at the American Hockey League level?

Douglas McKinney, Bethel Park

MOLINARI: It is far from certain that DuPont still will be in the Penguins' organization by autumn, let alone that he would be penciled in for a spot on the NHL roster if Letang doesn't perform to expectations.

DuPont will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and a strong showing during the AHL playoffs -- he had four goals and five assists during Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's 4-2 triumph over Norfolk in the opening round of the Calder Cup playoffs -- might intrigue some prospective employers, but most indications at this point are that DuPont likely will get a two-way contract (one that pays a reduced salary when the player is in the minor leagues) from an NHL team or return to Europe.

While DuPont's offensive abilities are hard to overlook, the unfortunate reality is that the same cannot be said of him. The Baby Penguins list him as being 5 foot 10, 186 pounds, which suggests that team protocol is to have players wear skates and fill their pockets with rocks while their vital statistics are being recorded. Fair or otherwise, the hard truth is that most undersized defensemen struggle to be effective in the NHL, especially in an era when forwards seem to get bigger and stronger every year.

Of course, if DuPont makes a habit of losing the puck the way he did on Hershey's third goal in Game 1 of the Baby Penguins' second-round series Wednesday, a 4-3 Bears victory, he might have a hard time finding a team on any continent that's eager to add him to its depth chart.

Q: The Penguins have a strength and conditioning coach, don't they? If so, he needs to get Evgeni Malkin on some type of program to keep him from being bullied on the boards. It was pathetic, what the Senators did to Malkin the whole series.

Paul Bado, Rescue, Calif.

MOLINARI: Malkin clearly was unprepared for the physical and mental demands of the 82-game NHL season -- he played just 46 in the Russian Super League in 2005-06 -- and it showed in his performance during the stretch drive and playoffs. That's not necessarily a criticism of Malkin, because very few young players grasp the physical and mental demands of playing at this level until they experience them, but it clearly is a situation that will have to be addressed.

Strength and conditioning coach Stephane Dube presumably gave Malkin a workout program for the summer -- that's pretty standard for all players -- but because Malkin will be training in Russia, the Penguins probably won't be able to monitor or evaluate his progress until he reports for training camp.

Q: I remember every game against the New York Islanders and the fact that I hated Jason Blake so much that I actually began to like him because he truly is an all-around great player. Any chance the Pens could pick him up this off-season?

Mike, Grand Rapids, Mich.

MOLINARI: If Blake was as productive and effective against every team as he has been against the Penguins in recent years, he'd probably be a first-team all-star and might be in line to earn the maximum allowed by the league's collective bargaining agreement if, as expected, he hits the market as an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Blake, to his inestimable credit, has transformed himself from a guy who couldn't convince an NHL club to draft him into one who can be effective in almost any situation, and that should have a very nice payoff -- literally -- for him when he begins sorting through contract offers this summer. He reaffirmed his offensive credentials by leading the Islanders in goals (40) and points (69) this season and could provide at least some of the goal-scoring the Penguins would like to add on the wings of their top two lines.

The downside (in addition to the hefty salary he might command) is that Blake will be 34 when camp opens and that he has a reputation for not sharing the puck with his linemates as much as they might want. Given that the Penguins would like to have their centers, especially Sidney Crosby, control the puck as much as possible, Blake might not be an ideal fit.

There's also the minor matter of him having speared Crosby during a game a few months ago, although that incident wouldn't be reason for the Penguins to avoid pursuing Blake if they were otherwise interested. Or for Blake to avoid coming here if he liked the contract and the role he was being offered.

Q: Do you think Sergei Gonchar has any trade value? His contract gets very expensive over the next couple of years and he might be attractive to a team that can afford to pay more than he will take up in cap space. If the Pens can get something good for him, I'd trade him, even though he has been helping Malkin get adjusted to life outside Russia.

Matt Coohill, Los Angeles

MOLINARI: You are correct that Gonchar's salary is about to rise significantly -- he will be paid $5.5 million, $6 million and $5.5 million over the next three seasons -- and while his cap hit of $5 million will be slightly lower than his pay, it still will be considerable. Finding a team that is able, let alone willing, to assume the financial commitment the Penguins have made to Gonchar would be a real challenge.

That Gonchar has big-time offensive ability and a pretty good feel for the game is obvious to anyone who has watched him since he arrived in North America in 1994, but no one will mistake him for Rod Langway in his own end, and the checks he cashes are far more impressive than the ones he throws. (Both, coincidentally enough, seem to happen about once every two weeks.)

And while there's no doubt that Gonchar and Malkin are close, their relationship would not be reason enough for the Penguins to pass on any trade offer for Gonchar that might come along. In fact, a case could be made that Malkin would benefit, at least over the long term, from losing the crutch of having a teammate who speaks his native language and thus spares him the need to immerse himself in English and North American culture.

Q: Barry Smith is taking a head coaching position in Russia. Smith coached with Bob Johnson here and with Scotty Bowman after him, followed Bowman to Detroit and has about five Cup rings. Has he ever been given serious consideration for a head-coaching job in the NHL and if not, why? I don't recall seeing his name mentioned as a serious candidate in any of the many, many NHL coach openings every year.

Al DeMarchi, North Huntingdon

MOLINARI: Smith does have a handful of Stanley Cup rings -- he earned two with the Penguins and three with the Red Wings -- but never has had a head-coaching job in the NHL, although he has turned up on a few teams' short list of candidates over the years.

He is serving as associate coach for Team USA in the world championships now being held in Moscow, and resigned as associate coach in Phoenix last month to take over as coach of SKA St. Petersburg in the Russian Super League. Smith also has coached in Sweden, Norway and Italy during the past quarter-century.

Smith has long been inexorably linked with Bowman -- a positive in some quarters, a negative in others -- and it's hard to say whether that has played a role in him not getting the chance to run his own bench in the NHL. (It's worth noting that another Bowman prot??g??, Pierre McGuire, was hired to coach in Hartford, even though he had considerably less experience than Smith does now. Or did at the time, for that matter.)

Although Smith's knowledge of the game is beyond reproach, it could be that his less-than-fiery personality has worked against him with at least a few prospective employers. If he fares well in Russia, though, it could make him a more attractive candidate to NHL teams a few years from now.