The numbers game...

Equipment manager Dana Heinze was busy making up four new jerseys for the new guys.

Four?  Yes, Pascal Dupuis will wear #9,  Hal Gill #2, and Marian Hossa will sport his familiar #18 formerly worn by Adam Hall.

Hall, who had surgery today for a sports hernia, is expected to wear #28 if he should return to the active roster in four to six weeks.

Here's the link to the all-time Penguins uniform numbers (the new guys will be added when the puck drops on Thursday in Boston).

TRIVIA ANSWER from April 2: Rob Scuderi wore #5 last year and Ryan Whitney briefly wore #6 in his rookie season.

Marian Hossa & Pascal Dupuis to Pens

Sidney Crosby gets a sniper to skate with.

The Penguins picked up Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, prospect Angelo Esposito and a first round pick.

Here's the TSN story.

Pens get Hal Gill from the Leafs

Pens get big man presence from Hal Gill, from Toronto in exchange for a second and fifth round pick. More importantly, the Pens won't need to see scenes like this.

Penguins acquire three marquee players at trade deadline

The Penguins don't need Ray Shero to pull off some blockbuster deal on Tuesday's trade deadline, but the team will feel like it was involved in a mega-deal anyway. 

Imagine any team in the NHL adding Marc-Andre Fleury, Sidney Crosby and Gary Roberts at the trade deadline.  The puck pundits would call it a decisive advantage.

The Pens have improved goaltending by adding a solid back-up, improved toughness by adding a playoff warrior and, oh yeah, the reigning Art Ross winner is returning.

Forget about a big deal with this team.  And stop mentioning Jordan Staal in trade rumors. Shero has consistently said he intends to protect the future and don't forget Staal is the guy Shero wanted when he took over as general manager.

Editor's update: Latest setback threatens Roberts' career

Art Ross, Malkin content

The NHL has a new scoring leader in Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin.

On January 18th Sidney Crosby was one point out of the top scoring spot before he suffered a high-ankle sprain. The Hockey Hall of Fame's Phil Pritchard contemplated sending a shipping carton to Pittsburgh to transport the Art Ross Trophy to a new city.

The league reluctantly named Malkin, then in 13th place in scoring, to replace Crosby in the All-Star game.

Malkin has 34 goals and 45 assists for 79 points and has scored in his last nine games. Malkin has racked-up 27 points in Crosby's 14-game absence.

Malkin's top spot might only last until tonight when Ovechkin's Capitals host the New York Islanders, but this should be a plot line for the remainder of the season.

Can't wait to see how Crosby competes with his teammate.  They should push each other to the top.  Crosby should be behind Malkin by 20 points with about 20 games to go.

Art Ross might be content to hang around Pittsburgh.

Flower's in bloom and so is the controversy?

Marc-Andre Fleury has been putting up some decent numbers in Wilkes-Barre during his conditioning stint. Check out some cool shots we found on a Webshots gallery. 

Fleury has stopped 89 shots and gave up four goals – and made 33 saves in his third rehab start, leading the Baby Pens to a 3-2 win against the Binghamton Senators.

Here's Kelly Tomlinson's take on Monday's game against the Binghamton Senators.

Our prediction when Fleury returns to Pittsburgh? Conlkin will be the number one and face the better opponents, but with fewer games than he's been facing. It easy, the Pens play four sets of back-to-back games and play seven games in 12 days in the third week of March.  Expect these guys to split the load.  Coach Michel Therrien wants a goalie controversy.  It will push both Fleury and Conlkin and the team will benefit. The playoff pressure starts now for them.

If no big deal is made at the deadline, the Pens can afford to keep Dany Sabourin as the third netminder.  If the salary cap swells, he'll be dangled on the waiver wire if they can't trade him.

An amazing collection of Penguins history

Yesterday's Inaugural Penguins Chronicles Pittsburgh Game Worn Hockey Jersey Expo was a cool event hosted by Casey Samuelson. Several examples of great jerseys were on hand and we'll be posting some photos of the event.

There were two first year penguins jerseys there, some classic Pens gamers with terrific stories to go with each of them. Phil Bourque, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Pens, spent a few hours signing autographs and sharing hockey history with the attendees. 

Here's a few snippets about the event. Casey has begun preliminary plans to hold the event next year.

And here's some of our information posted on the Penguins jersey history. We had the chance to photograph some jerseys in more detail and we'll be adding a few more details and samples in our history section.