Missing Malone, Hossa

Gone are 18 playoff goals. Gone are 24 playoff assists and 42 playoff points. Gone are two… Gone are 18 playoff goals. Gone are 24 playoff assists and 42 playoff points. Gone are two darn fine hockey players in Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone.

But is what remains and what will supplement their loss good enough to fill the void for the Pittsburgh Penguins next season?

In Malone, the Pens had a hometown talent, who, throughout his career, became a vocal leader and physical presence for a young, up-and-coming team.

He tallied 43 and 44 points in his first two seasons respectively, and, following an injury-plagued season where he missed 18 games in 2006-07, Malone stormed back to establish career highs in nearly every statistical category.

His off-ice leadership coupled with his productivity during the team’s playoff run made Malone a highly sought-after free agent following last season’s playoff run.

The Penguins, feeling that his salary demands were a bit high for his worth (and justifiably so, in my opinion), traded his rights to Tampa Bay prior to the July 1 free agency deadline.

In Tampa, he signed a lucrative contract that pays him $31.5 million over seven years — a bit much for a player who most doubted would reach his potential.

As for Hossa, Pittsburgh received exactly what it expected when it dealt for him at February’s trade deadline: a playoff rental.

It would’ve been a bonus for the Penguins to be able to resign the perennial All-Star even though some feel that they gave up too much for the forward.

To Atlanta, they sent Colby Armstrong, a fan favorite but replaceable player, Erik Christensen, a shootout specialist who proved that others could do his job, and Angelo Esposito, a head case of a former first-round pick that wasn’t even expected to be around when the team picked.

Also, they sent a first-round pick to the Thrashers, which will be the most debilitating as this June’s draft was one of the deepest in a long time.

Let’s not forget the Pens also received Pascal Dupuis, a speedster penalty killer that resigned at the July 1 free agency mark.

Overall, they came within one game of the championship with a big help from Hossa’s offense, but off-season acquisitions and last season’s holdovers will help supplement their loss.

These players — Janne Pesonen, Miroslav Satan and Jordan Staal — should assist in filling the void.

With Pesonen, the Penguins acquired a 26-year-old four-time champion from the Finnish league who led that league in scoring this past season.

He has speed comparable to Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and his hands aren’t far behind, but there are still questions as to whether or not he can adjust to the physical play of the NHL.

He is 5 feet, 10 inches tall, 180 pounds and is used to skating on international-sized ice surfaces, so his adaptation time might be a bit longer than fans prefer. I expect Pens management to take extreme patience with this former SM-Liiga Rookie of the Year.

Satan (pronounced ‘Shuh-TAN’) has scored 20 or more goals on nine occasions and has tallied 40-plus points in his past 10 seasons.

Last year with the Islanders, Satan ended a 305 consecutive-games-played streak, which was his second such streak of more than 250 games in his career.

He has been known to be a bit of a head case in the past, but that was when he was the go-to offensive force on a team.

Now he has Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal to shoulder that pressure.

Staal, meanwhile, needs to regain his rookie-season form in which he tallied 29 goals and 42 points.

Last season, while his defense improved to a new level of dominance, his production dropped to 12 goals and 28 points.

He will be looked upon to score more and score often next season in order for the Penguins to field three scoring lines led down the middle by Crosby, Malkin and Staal.

Next season is just a few months away, and only time will tell, but those still in a Penguin uniform will need to up their production to keep the team a Cup contender in 2009.