Click here to submit your question

Q: I realize that racking up goals is not the only benchmark for a player's production, but I am still concerned over Sidney Crosby's lack of goal production in these playoffs. He has made some great set-up passes that his teammates often seem unprepared to handle so I am just wondering if you think Crosby should start shooting a little bit more. He seems to pass up some good scoring chances to make the perfect pass and those don't seem to be working out for him all that often.

Greg Tomsho, Prescott, Ariz.

MOLINARI: Crosby has taken 27 shots in nine playoff games -- that's more than any teammate except Evgeni Malkin (46) and Marian Hossa (44) -- so it's not as if he's refusing to put the puck on goal, although more than a few Q&A readers have expressed concern that he only had two goals during the first two rounds. Hard to dispute that, but it's also true that Crosby leads the playoffs with 12 assists, even though the Penguins have played fewer games than any other team that qualified for the second round.

While none of that means the Penguins wouldn't like to see a bump in his shooting percentage -- 7.4 percent in these playoffs, down from 13.9 percent during the regular season -- Crosby is, and always will be, a playmaker above all else. He is a consistent threat to score from a fairly limited range, and his first inclination generally is to look for an open teammate. That is why, at the trade deadline, general manager Ray Shero went looking for someone who could finish the scoring chances Crosby creates, not a guy who would specialize in setting him up.

It really is difficult to say what the Penguins can reasonably expect from Crosby during the rest of their playoff run. While it's been a given since he got a high ankle sprain in mid-January that the lingering effects of that injury will prevent him from being 100 percent until next season, precisely how much it's impeding him won't be known until after the postseason. (You know, when teams finally acknowledge that Player A had a compound fracture in his leg since late in the regular season, Player B didn't miss a shift even though he's on the waiting list for a multiple-organ transplant, etc.)

This much, though, seems obvious: If the Penguins ever get to a point where their biggest concern is Crosby's offensive output, they're in awfully good shape.

Q: Is there any scenario whereby the Penquins can retain all of their key players under the NHL salary cap next year? Do you see any willingness by the high-salaried players to give a little, or restructure their contracts in order to keep the team together and thereby have the possibility of playing for a Stanley Cup contender for years to come.

Jim Emmett, Newtown, Pa.

MOLINARI: A realistic scenario? No, not really.

While there are examples of players who accept less than market value to give management some financial latitude to construct a championship-caliber team -- witness Crosby's deal which, at an average salary of $8.7 million, hardly qualifies him for government assistance, but it several million less than he could have gotten in free agency -- they are very much the exception.

In general, free agents are going to go where they receive the most attractive offer, whether it's because of money or length of contract or some combination thereof. In the case of similar offers, other factors -- being part of a contender, playing in a hometown or other desirable location, not uprooting one's family, etc. -- could come into play, but rarely are anything more than tiebreakers.

And really, there is nothing wrong with players acting like mercenaries when they get an opportunity to cash in on free agency. Being productive at this level is something they spent most of their lives working toward, and it's only reasonable for them to cash in on all the time and effort they invested. Going for the biggest possible payday doesn't always seem like the smartest move to them in hindsight, but it's completely understandable that doing so would be their first inclination.

And it's worth pointing out again that, under the NHL's current collective bargaining agreement, the terms of a contract cannot be altered, no matter whose idea it is or what their motivation might be. Contracts get restructured in a lot of other sports, for a variety of reasons, but it isn't an option in the NHL.