When do you think Evgeni Nabokov will end his holdout with the San Jose Sharks? San Jose must have realized in their embarrassing loss to the Detroit Red Wings that Miikka Kiprusoff can't lead them to the Cup.
-- Ryan, Reston, Va.

	Miikka Kiprusoff and Evgeni Nabokov actually posted similar save percentages last season.

Melrose: I think they're getting closer. Money isn't the problem. The discrepancy is the length of his contract. San Jose wants a longer-term contract, while Nabokov wants to sign for two years. If San Jose wins without him, it will take longer to get the deal done. The Sharks lost their first two games, but rallied to beat Edmonton on Thursday night -- which was huge. But if they go into a slump and goaltending is accredited to that slump, we should see Nabokov signed very quickly.

Living in Pittsburgh, and being a Philadelphia Flyers fan, I get sick and tired of hearing about Mario, Mario, Mario. Are the Pittsburgh Penguins actually going to get out of the basement and make it fun for the Flyers to come to this town again?
-- Dave "The Wave," Pittsburgh, Pa.

Melrose: Because of the way they play, the new rules have probably helped the Penguins more than any other team in the NHL. They're not as bad as we thought they'd be. And don't forget, Marty Straka will be back eventually, which will make them much better. They will be competitive and will score some goals. On the other hand, the Flyers look as good as any team in the East, so it should be a good competition between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia this season.

Where is Byron Dafoe and why hasn't any team picked him up? Dafoe has been one of the best regular-season goaltenders over the last five years (we however, won't mention his success in the playoffs) and could really help a team like the Minnesota Wild or Columbus Blue Jackets, even Pittsburgh.
-- Jason, Cape Cod, Mass.

Melrose: You're right Jason, Dafoe didn't have a great playoffs and that cost him a lot of money. He needs to lower his demands. Dafoe is hoping that a high-profile team will fall flat on their face, and come out of the gate slow with goaltending problems. That way, he becomes more attractive. Dafoe is going to need some help from a contender who's struggling. That's how he'll get signed.

Detroit Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk is a very good,young player who has already impressed a lot of people. Do you think he could end up one of the top players once he develops?
-- Zach, Toledo, Ohi.

	Datsyuk

Melrose: Datsyuk will be a great offensive player but I'm not sure he'll ever be a great two-way player. He's not very big and he still needs to win some physical defensive battles down low, in his own end. Scotty Bowman was very careful with who he played Datsyuk against in last year's finals. I remember once he got caught out there against Ron Francis' line -- that line scored a goal because Datsyuk couldn't handle Francis down low. To become a Cliff Ronning, who will help their powerplay immensely, and Marian Gaborik is scoring much needed goals. They beat the Dallas Stars with solid defense and a couple goals on the powerplay. If they can continue to use this formula, they'll stay a good team.

Is it just me or is Eric Lindros a bit more hesitant to go for power moves like early in his career? Do you think the rash of concussions has made him tentative? If so, how can he become as dominant as he was before?
-- Madhan, Atlanta, Ga.

Melrose: Lindros may be more careful, but he's still pretty reckless. On Thursday night, he went to the net hard and took a big hit from Buffalo's Jay McKee. It's a Catch-22, Lindros has got to play hard to be effective, but he's also one concussion away from being finished. But I don't see Lindros changing very much, he'll continue to play tough. It's only way he knows how to play. I haven't seen a big change in him. I just hope he stays healthy and we get to watch him all year long.

Barry Melrose, a former NHL defenseman and coach, is a hockey analyst for ESPN.