Thanks at least in part to concerns expressed by Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, Reebok has tweaked the jerseys of its EDGE uniforms, which are being used throughout the NHL this season.

Crosby, who has endorsement deals with Reebok, spoke with someone from the sporting equipment company to describe how the water-resistant jerseys trap perspiration, which pools in players' gloves and skates. He said Penguins equipment manager Dana Heinze spoke to Reebok first.

"[I said] some guys had some issues with the water kind of staying in[side the sweaters]," Crosby said yesterday. "Some other teams had talked about it. They've come up with a resolution for that."

It's unclear what Reebok has done to rectify the problem or whether the new version of the sweaters will be available to the Penguins in their season opener tonight at Carolina. Officials with the NHL and Reebok could not be reached for comment.

A Reebok release when the Penguins' EDGE uniforms were unveiled outlines the advanced materials used -- stretch mesh, 4Way Stretch Pique, X-trafil and a PlayDry moisture management technology.

The idea was to halt absorption of perspiration and melted ice chips so jerseys would not get weighed down during games. Reebok relied on two years of research and testing with input from experts at MIT and Central Michigan, as well as some players.

Over the course of training camp, the Penguins became concerned about the side effect of trapped perspiration.

Crosby said Reebok was more than willing to make changes.

"As a company, they want to make sure that the product is the best it can be," he said. "It's nice that they will listen to feedback from the players."

A lot of A's

The Penguins named winger Mark Recchi a full-time alternate captain, with defenseman Sergei Gonchar wearing the "A" for home games and winger Gary Roberts displaying it on the road.

Recchi, 39, will serve the role for the third consecutive season, Gonchar, 33, for the second. Roberts, 41, who was acquired at the February trade deadline last season, is a first-time alternate captain with the Penguins, replacing Crosby.

"He's a true leader," coach Michel Therrien said of Roberts. "He came in last year, and we didn't want to change things that had been working really well."

"I've been alternate captain for a long time, whether it was here or Philly or Montreal," Recchi said.

"I know what's expected of me."

Those three are among the four oldest players, along with defenseman Darryl Sydor, 35, on a mostly young team, but Recchi said there's no division in the locker room.

"It makes us feel young," he said. "I don't feel my age. I still think I'm in my 20s.

"Age difference doesn't mean anything on this hockey club. We all get along wonderfully. We just can't stay up as late as they can anymore."

Oh, brother

Even though he is in his second NHL season, Penguins forward Jordan Staal still gets a kick out of playing against older brother Eric, 23, a winger with Carolina.

One thing troubles Jordan. Eric set up Erik Cole for an assist Wednesday in the Hurricanes' season-opening loss to Montreal, meaning Jordan already is a point behind his brother.

"I know. I don't like it," Jordan, 19, said.

There was nothing he could do about falling behind since the Penguins have not played a regular-season game.

"I know, but there's something I can do about it [tonight]," he said.

As a rookie last season, Jordan had 29 goals, one fewer than Eric. Eric had 70 points to Jordan's 42. .

Suite deals

Crosby and Recchi purchased suites at Mellon Arena for 2007-08 to be used by various regional children's charities.

"If you have an opportunity to help some people out or give them a nice experience, you want to do that," Crosby said.

For the home opener against Anaheim tomorrow night, children from the Make-A-Wish Foundation will use Crosby's suite, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters will get Recchi's.