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Because of the strong response to Bill Ratay's Mellon Arena memories printed in the Q&A recently, similar submissions from other readers interested in sharing their recollections will be posted in the Penguins area of PG-Plus. Those pieces can be sent via the Q&A submission form or to DMolinari@Post-Gazette.com

Q: Do you think the Pens need to make a big splash by the trade deadline? I think they really need a healthy Chris Kunitz, Max Talbot and Tyler Kennedy to bring their energy to the team, not to mention how the playoff-positioning drive and the playoffs themselves will motivate the team. Playing so many games the last two seasons, especially playoff games, certainly makes getting up for this regular season a bit of a challenge. At the same time, others are really up for the Pens because they are defending champs, so results may be lower than expectations. However, watch out come playoff time. That is now the measuring stick of this team.

Russ Wilson, Royersford, Pa.

MOLINARI: General manager Ray Shero proved two years ago, when he sent Atlanta a package of two NHL players (Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen), his most recent No. 1 draft choice (Angelo Esposito) and a first-rounder in 2008 for Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis, that he's willing to make a high-impact move if he deems it worthwhile.

Most of the time, however, his trade-deadline deals have done more to fill specific voids in his lineup than to generate headlines. Players acquired at or near the deadline have assumed such diverse roles as enforcer (Georges Laraque), defensive defenseman (Hal Gill) and first-line wingers (Chris Kunitz, Bill Guerin).

Most indications are that Shero will take the same approach as the March 3 deadline approaches. It's generally accepted that the Penguins could use a goal-scoring winger and a physical defenseman, and Shero's history suggests that he'll be able to negotiate deals to get both. He doesn't have to do it by pursuing the high-profile likes of, say, Ilya Kovalchuk, however.

Regardless of how many moves Shero makes before the deadline, or how major they are, the Penguins' chances of contending for another Cup figure to hinge, in large part, on their ability to get fairly healthy, and stay that way. A team's ability to avoid injuries to key personnel can be one of the most critical variables in determining whether it can survive the two-month ordeal that is the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Penguins are, at least for the moment, in reasonably good shape. Kunitz is preparing to return from his abdominal surgery a month ago, and Kennedy has missed just one game recently. Conversely, enforcer Eric Godard won't return until after the Olympic break (although he won't be a factor during the playoffs) and the outlook is murky for Talbot, who is nursing what is believed to be a groin injury.

It's not known when Talbot will return to the lineup, let alone reach the level of effectiveness he had last spring. And while, in a worst-case scenario, not having him on top of his game for the playoffs would be a setback for the Penguins, it shouldn't be enough to snuff their chances of repeating as champions.

Q: Martin Skoula isn't playing as well as he did earlier in the year. The coaching staff is obviously aware of this, as he was on the ice for less than five minutes against Buffalo (Monday). That was the second time in his last four games that's happened. If he's fallen off so much that the coaches would rather play five defensemen, why not just waive him? He'd likely go unclaimed, but you'd get him off the roster and his salary off the cap. They are already shuttling players back and forth to Wilkes-Barre on a seemingly daily basis, so if they need to add Ben Lovejoy to the list of commuters, I wouldn't think that would be a big deal.

Eric Majeski, Washington, Pa.

MOLINARI: The Penguins signed Skoula a few days before the regular season as injury-insurance and, when was first called upon to step into the lineup, acquitted himself well and looked like a nice no-risk, high-reward addition by Shero.

The quality of Skoula's play has slipped significantly, however, as evidenced by the limited workload he's been given, and waiving him certainly is an option for management. If he went unclaimed, Skoula could be sent to Wilkes-Barre to get his $575,000 salary off the NHL books, although he presumably would be replaced on the roster by someone like Lovejoy, who earns $500,000 when he's playing here.

The rationale for leaving Skoula where he is presumably is that management believes he's capable of getting his game back in order and that if he was sent to the American Hockey League and performed well enough to earn a promotion back to the NHL, there's virtually no chance he'd make it through re-entry waivers unclaimed, because almost every team with visions of competing for a Stanley Cup would like to add a little depth on defense at virtually no cost.

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