Q: Since Sidney Crosby signed for $8.7 million a year, symbolizing his jersey number, what are the chances the Pens can get Evgeni Malkin on an extension worth $7.1 million?

Brian Glaister, Seattle

MOLINARI: There's no evidence that Malkin has the same strong ties to his sweater number, 71, that Crosby has to No. 87, so it seems like a longshot that his next contract will feature an average salary of $7.1 million.

It actually is a bit premature to accurately project what Malkin's next deal will be worth, because determining his value to the Penguins is an ongoing process. Suffice to say, however, that it hasn't dropped any during the nearly four weeks he's filled in for Crosby as the Penguins' cornerstone player.

While there is, on some levels, no great urgency for the Penguins to get Malkin's next deal worked out -- he is under contract through the 2008-09 season and the NHL's labor deal bars the Penguins from even opening negotiations with him until July 1 -- there are some practical benefits to getting it taken care of as quickly as possible.

The most obvious is that when they get Malkin's signature on a new deal, it will eliminate any danger of another club giving him an offer sheet with an even-higher-than-budgeted salary if he reaches the point where he becomes eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2009. What's more, knowing precisely how much they'll be paying Malkin, and how his contract will be structured, will give general manager Ray Shero an idea of how much he'll have to spend on other players, whether they already belong to the Penguins or might be brought in via trades or free agency.

If it turns out that Malkin's contract will pay him an average of $7.1 million per season, maybe there really would be a trend developing. If so, Kris Letang, who wears No. 58, would have to be delighted.

Q: Whatever happened to Ondrej Nemec? You don't hear anything about him anymore. Did the team cut ties with him?

Ryan Hamner, Blaine, Minn.

MOLINARI: Nemec has secured membership in one of hockey's least-exclusive clubs: The army of Penguins' second-round draft choices who never made a significant contribution to the franchise. (Any day now, he could be learning the secret handshake from guys like Pavel Skrbek, Brian Gaffaney and Alex Zevakhin, among many others.)

Nemec was the 35th player selected in the 2000 draft, and the Penguins thought he had the potential to be a solid two-way contributor. Alas, his North American experience was limited to seven games with the Penguins' farm team in Wilkes-Barre in 2003-04 and for the past three seasons, he has been a fixture on the blue line for Karlovy Vary HC in the Czech Extraleague.