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Q: What is the contract status of Kris Letang? I love his game and think, in his prime, he'll be a top-10 defenseman in the league for a long time. Any thoughts on signing him to a long-term deal?

Paul Sevanich, Washington, D.C.

MOLINARI: Letang has two seasons left on his entry-level contract, courtesy of management's decision to return him to his junior team early in the 2006-07 season. Had he played a few more games in the NHL then, the first year of his contract would have kicked in.

While the Penguins obviously can, at any time, consider where Letang fits into their long-range plans, the league's collective bargaining agreement prohibits them from opening negotiations on his second contract until next July 1, so there's no need for general manager Ray Shero to decide just yet how long he would like Letang's next deal to run.

There is, at this point, very little to dislike about Letang's game. He is a right-handed shot -- always a plus -- and has very good offensive skills. And while his size is rather ordinary and he is still learning to play his position, it shouldn't be forgotten that he's only 21 years old and already has 70 regular-season NHL games to his credit.

It's too early to know whether Letang will progress to the point where he becomes an integral part of the team's core, but he surely is one of the most promising young defensemen in the league. Unless his development plateaus, which is always a possibility with players Letang's age, he should be in line for enhanced responsibilities and ice time in 2008-09.

Q: With the departures of Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts, who do you think will fill the role of alternate captain? Darryl Sydor seemed to be the odd-man out, in terms of playing during the playoffs, so perhaps a guy like Brooks Orpik could take on the role.

Alex Shick, Wilkes-Barre

MOLINARI: While Sydor certainly seems to be sliding down the depth chart, it remains to be seen if that will cost him his "A." There is precedent, however, for coach Michel Therrien to strip one from a veteran who is liked and respected by his teammates. Anyone remember John LeClair?

Sergei Gonchar is sure to retain his alternate captaincy, but if Sydor's becomes available, Orpik would be a logical candidate to inherit it. He has, after, all, joined the club of players who accepted less than their market value to remain with the Penguins, and that says something about his commitment to the franchise. (Evgeni Malkin did the same earlier this month, of course, but his limited command of English -- and general reluctance to speak it with most people from outside the organization -- could cause problems when he'd have to seek a detailed explanation of a referee's decision.)

If Therrien would decide to give the second "A" to a forward, how about Max Talbot? He might never qualify as part of the Penguins' core, but if leading by example counts for anything, Therrien might have a hard time turning up another center or winger more willing to sweat and sacrifice than Talbot.

Q: Tell me what you think about this: A team gets a discount on salaries of players they have drafted. What I mean is, when Marc-Andre Fleury signed, since he was drafted by the Penguins, only 80 percent of that money would count against the cap, but if they were to sign a free agent from another team, all that money would count against the cap. Give it to me straight: Is that a crazy idea?

Bill Bartlett, Amsterdam, N.Y.

MOLINARI: Well, you can safely assume that if the concept you propose ever comes up for a vote by the league's Board of Governors, it will have the wholehearted support of the Penguins. Given their nucleus of highly skilled -- and, inevitably, highly paid -- young talent, that plan would translate to a considerable saving in cap space, which is at a premium for the Penguins these days.

There is considerable merit to your idea, because it could help to limit the movement of prominent players, and one of the most frequent complaints among fans in almost every sport is that it's difficult to develop strong ties to pro athletes because so many change teams multiple times over the course of their career. Allowing them to, in theory, be paid more to stay with the team with which they started almost certainly would reduce that movement.

That said, allowing this kind of exemption might give an advantage to the deep-pockets franchises that used to have payrolls two and three times the size of some other clubs. For example, some smaller-market franchises might not have the resources to give a big-time player a $10 million salary, even if only $8 million would count against the cap. That could put it at a competitive disadvantage alongside teams such as the New York Rangers, Detroit and Philadelphia, all of whom have been shown to have plenty of money and no qualms about spending it on personnel.

What's more, your proposal could accelerate salary inflation, because agents routinely use "comparables" -- players whose age, role and/or production are similar to those of a client -- when negotiating contracts. If Player A is a homegrown talent who gets some extra money because his team has the resources to be generous without worrying about its cap space, Player B from another club could logically argue that he deserves similar pay (assuming Player A is a valid comparable), even if he entered the NHL with a different organization or his current club isn't as well-heeled as the one that employs Player A.

And if people who follow the NHL have learned anything over the past three years, it's that the guys running most teams are doing a swell job of inflating salaries without any assistance from modifications to the salary-cap system.