There will be fans at Mellon Arena this afternoon who hurl insults and invectives at Marian Hossa every time he goes over the boards, who jeer every time he touches the puck. Or inhales.

Others won't be nearly so welcoming.

Hossa, who signed with Detroit in July after spending the stretch drive and playoffs with the Penguins last spring, expects as much. He made that clear last fall, when he said flatly, "Obviously, I know it won't be pleasant when I come back there."

Today, when the Red Wings return here for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in June, he'll discover just how hostile that reception will be.

Hossa, of course, is guilty of the high crime of exercising his collectively bargained right to, as an unrestricted free agent, pick where he wanted to play.

He chose Detroit, citing the Red Wings' status as top Stanley Cup contenders as the reason he accepted a $7.45 million, one-year contract over more lucrative proposals from the Penguins and Edmonton.

It's hard to argue with his logic, and little that's happened this season suggests he made a bad choice.

At least a portion of the Penguins' fan base was outraged and offended when he left, however, and Hossa -- despite being part of the organization for barely four months -- replaced Jaromir Jagr atop many lists of ex-Penguins who had morphed into arch-villains.

Most of Hossa's former teammates didn't take his departure that personally, and neither does the guy who brought him in and, ultimately, was unable to convince him to stay. There are, general manager Ray Shero said, no hard feelings, even though he believed right up until the time Hossa accepted Detroit's offer that he would return.

"This is the business," Shero said. "Unrestricted free agents have choices, and that's the choice he elected to make."

The Penguins still are dealing with the effects of Hossa's departure. They continue to search for a goal-scoring winger to take his place on Sidney Crosby's wing -- those two became a formidable duo -- and he would have upgraded their special-teams play, too.

Of course, if Hossa had stayed, the Penguins would not have had the salary-cap space to retain defenseman Brooks Orpik, whose value to a defense that does not make a habit of punishing opponents physically should not be understated. It's hard to imagine they would have been able to give Jordan Staal the four-year, $16 million deal he received last month, either.

In fact, if Hossa had accepted the Penguins' proposal, it might have complicated -- if not threatened -- the negotiations that ultimately produced Evgeni Malkin's second contract. Now, letting Malkin walk, even though the Penguins would have been compensated for his loss, never was an option. But structuring his deal in a way that satisfied the needs of both parties might have been a lot more challenging.

There is, of course, no upside to losing a world-class talent and getting nothing but a farewell wave in return. Fans' frustration with the Penguins' play over most of the past three months likely will add to the intensity of the boos directed at Hossa today.

The reality, though, is that getting Hossa back wouldn't necessarily have kept the Penguins out of the predicament in which they find themselves. And while their problems might not have been the same if he were playing here, they might have been even bigger.

The Tampa Bay Lightning might be the largest chapter of the Penguins' Alumni Association.

Four players -- Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Mark Recchi and Adam Hall -- and coach Rick Tocchet, pictured inset, used to work here, and rugged winger David Koci spent considerable time with the Penguins' minor-league team in Wilkes-Barre.

Not surprisingly, at least some of those guys still pay attention to how the Penguins are faring, and most admit to being a bit taken aback that they are struggling to grab a place among the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference.

"They've had some injuries," Malone said. "[Sergei] Gonchar hasn't been there all year, so that's a big hit.

"I'm a little surprised by how they're doing, but there are still lots of games left, so I'm sure they can right the ship if they want to."

Which is pretty much the way Tocchet feels, too.

"They're Stanley Cup finalists," he said. "I wouldn't expect [them to struggle as they have], no, but they have 30 games [now 28, remaining]. They have too many good players on that team. They have 30 games to right the ship, and they're within striking distance. I can see them getting out of it, with that talent."