Q: Does the NHL allow teams to restructure contracts in order to help re-sign players? I know this is a common practice in the NFL, to help a team get more space under the cap and then re-sign players of need.

Rick McGonigal, Plymouth Meeting, Pa.

MOLINARI: The NHL's collective bargaining agreement does not allow for any contract terms to be altered, for any reason, and regardless of whether it is the player or the team (or both) that proposes those revisions. The only things that could be perceived as exceptions are when a player retires and his contract no longer is in effect or when he is bought out and the amount of money he receives is reduced and the term over which it can be paid is extended.

Q: What are your thoughts on Jay McKee wearing No. 77 for the Pens? I know Paul Coffey was only here for a couple of years, but he was huge in raising the level of play when he got here. He is still the only Penguin to wear No. 77. Is it up to McKee to get that number or someone else?

Michael Litzenberger, Reading, Pa.

MOLINARI: It would be a bit disconcerting to see a guy wearing No. 77 in a Penguins sweater blocking shots, wouldn't it? When Coffey, one of the greatest skaters and offensive defensemen in NHL history, did that, it generally was because he couldn't get out of the way.

Players can, in general, request any number they want, and McKee did wear No. 77 during his three seasons in St. Louis. However, he wore No. 74 when he played for Buffalo before signing with the Blues, and one suspects that's the number he'll ask for when his tenure with the Penguins begins.

Q: What are the contract statuses of Brian Strait and Carl Sneep? Strait may play the defensive style needed to replace Hal Gill or Rob Scuderi and Sneep sounds like a decent all-around prospect.

Dominic Hung, Vancouver

MOLINARI: Strait signed an entry-level contract with the Penguins this summer after spending three years at Boston University, while Sneep will return to Boston College for his senior season. Strait is a solid, reliable defensive defenseman and might well fill a Scuderi-type role in coming years, but general manager Ray Shero and his staff tend to be patient with prospects, so Strait probably will have to have an exceptional training camp to get serious consideration for a spot on the NHL roster this fall.

Q: If a player gets traded and has a multi-year, front loaded contract, does the salary-cap hit change for the new team?

Jason Evans, Conway Pa.

MOLINARI: A player's cap hit does not change over the life of his contract, even if his employer does. The only exceptions, again, are if the player retires or is bought out.

Q: How much room does an NHL GM leave himself under the ceiling of the salary cap in case of injuries?

Craig Cornwell, Buffalo, N.Y.

MOLINARI: That's a judgment call each GM has to make, and the decision is influenced by a number of factors. (The most important is how many "must-have" players he's trying to get onto his NHL roster, and how much those guys cost.) Ideally, one would think that a GM would like to have at least 22 or 23 players who fit under the cap, which will be $56.8 million for 2009-10, because even a team that's reasonably healthy is likely to have at least a couple of guys injured once the season gets going.

Calgary experienced the downside of not leaving a cap cushion for replacement players last season, when the Flames were forced to dress fewer than 20 men for some games because they did not have the space to accommodate the contracts of players who would have filled in for injured guys.