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Tuesday, January 08, 2002

By Dave Molinari, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

One is the Penguins' most rugged and tenacious defenseman. The other has been their best two-way center all season.

Both would be virtually impossible to replace.

And neither should be planning to put an addition on his house here.

It's possible the Penguins will make a legitimate effort to re-sign Darius Kasparaitis and Robert Lang, both of whom are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents after this season.

Just like it's still possible Tampa Bay will win the Stanley Cup, or the international media will make Team USA goalie Tom Barrasso a unanimous choice for Mr. Congeniality at the Winter Olympics.

At this point, the major hurdle to keeping Lang and Kasparaitis is pretty obvious: Working out a contract requires a little negotiating, and the Penguins have shown no interest in doing that with either. Figuring out why management has taken that approach is the hard part.

Mostly because, even if the front office eventually determines the club's financial structure simply couldn't support their new salaries, it would be easier to trade Lang and Kasparaitis -- and to get a better return for them -- if they were working on multiyear contracts.

There's no question keeping both would put a strain on the Penguins' budget. While it's impossible to say how much either will command -- remember, there have been no negotiations that would help to establish a market value -- it figures to be in excess of $3 million per season.

That's a lot of money, to be sure, but the cost of not keeping them might be even higher, because the Penguins have no one qualified to fill the voids their departure would create.

Milan Kraft looked like a capable successor for Lang, and perhaps someday he will be. But when the Penguins -- justifiably, and belatedly -- sent him to their minor-league team in Wilkes-Barre late last month, it was a transparent concession that he's not ready to contribute significantly at this level.

And he certainly isn't prepared to inherit the role of someone who centers a No. 1 line and is a fixture on special teams.

Getting Mario Lemieux back obviously will bolster the Penguins down the middle, but it's risky to assume he'll stay healthy for the rest of the season. Or, for that matter, that he'll continue to play indefinitely.

Difficult as it would be for the Penguins to replace Lang, they will find it infinitely tougher to find someone to fill Kasparaitis' niche.

There is a distinct downside to Kasparaitis' game -- his decision-making is suspect at times and he has a propensity for taking bad penalties -- but he is a fierce and fearless hitter who plays with an infectious passion, an intensity that can elevate the adrenaline and testosterone levels of an entire team.

If management doesn't recognize how Kasparaitis' heart and work ethic and dedication to his teammates outweigh the negative aspects of his game, well, the Penguins have much bigger problems than simply being willing to part with a one-of-a-kind defenseman.

Of course, it should not be forgotten that their problems with Kasparaitis are largely self-inflicted. Their attempt to lowball him in a salary-arbitration hearing last summer backfired when the NHL Players Association officials pointed out that, because Kasparaitis is in his 10th season and the Penguins' salary offer of $1.1 million was less than the league average, he is entitled to total free agency in 2002, instead of the following year.

Had the Penguins tried to negotiate a deal in good faith, Kasparaitis might be in the early stages of a long-term contract now. And perhaps, despite the fiscal constraints under which they operate, the Penguins could have paid him close to market value if they hadn't thrown a three-year, $2.65 million offer at Mike Wilson last summer.

Wilson lasted little more than a month before being demoted to Wilkes-Barre, where he apparently is as popular as a tax audit. He certainly has done little to suggest he could compensate for the physical presence that would be lost if Kasparaitis is traded, and neither has highly touted rookie Brooks Orpik.

Orpik, one year removed from Boston College, has not played the body the way many expected and shows no sign of being on the verge of stepping into the NHL.

Certainly, he doesn't figure to be ready for it within the next two-plus months, which looks to be the maximum remaining shelf life on Kasparaitis' tenure with the Penguins.

Trivia question

Last Wednesday, Carolina center Ron Francis became the fifth player in NHL history to record 500 goals and 1,000 assists in his career. How many of his 501 goals and 1,164 assists did Francis earn while playing for the Penguins? Answer at end.

Game for the All-Stars

Mario Lemieux has dominated All-Star Games like no other NHL player, piling up 12 goals and 10 assists in nine appearances.

Given the hip problem that has limited him to 11 games and the grueling schedule facing him between now and spring, it's easy to make a case that Lemieux should skip the game Feb. 2 in Los Angeles.

Should he opt to participate, Lemieux would have to travel cross-country to be part of an event whose outcome is forgotten minutes after it becomes official. He would return to NHL play a few days later and, in less than two weeks, head for Salt Lake City and the physical and emotional rigors of the Olympics.

The whole issue might be moot -- Lemieux ranked fourth among North American centers in the most recent voting -- but it's hardly out of the question that he'll be added to the North American roster. And should he be asked to play, Lemieux seems intent on doing so.

"When it's time, I'll make a decision," he said. "But if I'm invited, I'd love to play in the All-Star Game. There aren't too many All-Star Games left for me, so anytime you have a chance to be there and be around the great players, you should make an effort to be there."

Ungratefully speaking

Defenseman Sven Butenschon, who proved to be really, well, tall in four-plus seasons on the Penguins' depth chart, seems to feel that being traded to Edmonton for left winger Dan LaCouture in March was a turning point in his career.

"I was pumped to get out of Pittsburgh," he told the Winnipeg Sun. "Their organization didn't reward hard work or work ethic or anything like that. I never actually made the team out of training camp and never really got a chance to play with them."

Butenschon, it should be noted, offered that assessment while visiting Manitoba as a member of the Hamilton Bulldogs, members in good standing of the American Hockey League. The same American Hockey League Butenschon spent virtually all of his time in while cashing a paycheck from the Penguins.

Bulldogs Coach Claude Julien described Butenschon as "a premier defenseman at the AHL level." There's no evidence that he actually meant to say, "a perennial defenseman at the AHL level."

Prospect delivers

Boston College center Ben Eaves was the only Penguins' prospect to participate in the recent world junior championships in the Czech Republic but acquitted himself quite nicely.

Eaves, the captain of Team USA, had one goal and four assists in six games and joined Chris Higgins and Ryan Hollweg in being honored as the club's top three players.

Team USA compiled a 4-1-2 record in the tournament -- it lost fewer games than any other country -- but finished fifth because of the timing of its defeat.

Trivia answer

Carolina center Ron Francis had 164 goals and 449 assists during his 533-game Penguins career.