KEY ADDITIONS				KEY LOSSES
Name None	Pos.	From		Name Maxim Galanov	Pos. D	To Thrashers

Outlook
Now that Mario Lemieux has once again rescued this franchise, it's time to get down to hockey, not business.

		Jaromir Jagr is a given, but the next most important player on the team is Tom Barrasso. Can he stay healthy? If Barrasso is healthy, he is still one of the best goaltenders in the game. Can Martin Straka repeat his career year of '98? Without Straka repeating, they have a problem because the Pens don't have much talent elsewhere. I think they could get to the second round of the playoffs again. They just hold it together with IHL and AHL players and retreads. Kevin Constantine has assembled a great coaching staff. The Penguins are as well prepared to play as any team in the league, the reason why they are able to compete with inferior talent.

The Pittsburgh Penguins caught a lot of teams by surprise last season by finishing eight games over .500 with a collection of castoffs and one superstar. Coach Kevin Constantine was able to work magic with this group, with several players enjoying career years. It will be a lot tougher to duplicate that feat this season.

The Pens should be able to count on plenty of offense with the top two lines of Jaromir Jagr-Martin Straka-Kip Miller and German Titov-Jan Hrdina-Alexei Kovalev. However, there are plenty of questions marks beyond those top two forward lines.

One rookie who could make an impact this season is 19-year-old center Milan Kraft. Not only is the 1998 first-round pick (23rd overall) expected to make the team, but the Penguins hope he can slip into the third-line slot by season's end.

Speaking of question marks, the Penguins have one in goal if Tom Barrasso can't stay healthy. The Massachusetts native was beset by a barrage of injuries last season. He'll play 55-60 games this season if he can. The backup slot could be by committee between Peter Skudra and Jean-Sebastien Aubin. Craig Hiller, a 1996 first-round pick (23rd overall) is waiting in the wings if those two cannot deliver.

Defenseman Kevin Hatcher will once again see 25-plus minutes of ice time. Gritty defenseman Darius Kasparaitis is healthy, but doesn't have a contract, and he may not even be in the country at season's start. The Penguins need to work young defensemen Sven Butenschon, Pavel Skrbek, Andrew Ference, Michal Rozsival and Josef Melichar into the lineup in the near future, or there won't be much of a future because, beyond Hatcher and Kasparaitis, the Penguins don't have much depth at the blue line.

Pittsburgh's fortunes rest squarely on the shoulders of Jagr and Constantine. The two had trouble seeing eye-to-eye last season regarding the latter's coaching philosophy. If the bickering renews, it could be a long winter in the Steel City.

'98-99 ATLANTIC STANDINGS
TEAM	W	L	T	Pts.
New Jersey	47	24	11	105
Philadelphia	37	26	19	93
Pittsburgh	38	30	14	90
N.Y. Rangers	33	38	11	77
N.Y. Islanders	24	48	10	58

The bottom line
Better or not: Not
By how much: 3-5 fewer wins
Most improved: Alexei Morozov
Most valuable: Jaromir Jagr
Biggest disappointment: Robert Lang

Charles Avellino is a lead NHL researcher for ESPN.