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1999-2000 Stat Leaders Stat  Leader  No.  Goals  Jaromir Jagr  42  Assists  Jaromir Jagr  54  Points  Jaromir Jagr  96  +/-  Jaromir Jagr  25  Shots  Jaromir Jagr  290  Ice Time (F)  Martin Straka  23:58  Ice Time (D)  Jiri Slegr  21:21  Faceoff Pct.  Jan Hrdina  53.66%  Hits  Darius Kasparaitis  261  PP Pts  Jaromir Jagr  29  SH Pts  Alexei Kovalev  5

When Herb Brooks was hired 25 games into the 1999-2000 season, he was a short-timer. And he wanted it that way. No matter to the Penguins. Pittsburgh's game opened up and the scoring followed. A dozen games and 47 goals later the Penguins hit the .500 mark for the first time since October 23. It was January 2 and a brand new year. But a second half of ups-and-downs would follow.

Jaromir Jagr couldn't win every game on his own and it seemed the team couldn't win without him. Pittsburgh still roared into the playoffs with 10 wins in the final 15 games of the season, and Jagr's 10-point first-round playoff series would sink the No. 2 seeded Capitals. The Pens took a 2-0 series lead in the Battle of Pennsylvania, but Jagr was held pointless in Games 3 and 4 and went down with a back injury in Game 5 -- all Penguins losses. Philadelphia also won Game 6 and moved on.

The Penguins move on, too, with former Czech national coach Ivan Hlinka behind the bench.

For more on the Penguins, bookmark this page and check back Wednesday, Oct. 11 for a Sports Illustrated Scouting Report.

BRIGHT SPOTS		GRAY AREAS
Jaromir Jagr is the best hockey player in the world. Last season he embodied the NHL's most valuable player. Jean-Sebastien Aubin is coming off a year in which he went 23-21-3 with a 2.58 GAA. Fleet of big, young defensemen may be ready to crack the lineup. Alexei Kovalev has shown that his peerless practice performances translate to games in the right system. With an international roster and a background in international coaching, Hlinka should be able to keep the Penguins a running and gunning outfit.		Beginning the season in Tokyo is a tough road trip from which to recover. Aubin -- who held out until Sept. 24 -- has played only 68 games in the NHL, and at this time last year was a No. 3 goaltender. Garth Snow signed with Pittsburgh's AHL team on Oct. 3. Jagr's recurring injuries should be of some concern -- even if at 60 percent he's better than 80 percent of the NHL. Pens' 37 wins last season actually represent a regression. Pittsburgh hasn't won so few games in a non-strike year since 1990. Prospect Billy Tibbetts spent two years in jail. We won't bore you with the details, but they aren't pretty.

Comings
Player	Pos.	From	Via
Matthew Barnaby	LW	Pittsburgh	Re-signed
Josef Beranek	C	Pittsburgh	Re-signed
Dennis Bonvie	F	Pittsburgh	Re-signed
Steve Butenschon	D	Pittsburgh	Re-signed
Rene Corbet	LW	Pittsburgh	Re-signed
Trent Cull	D	Springfield (AHL)	Free agent
Chris Kelleher	D	Pittsburgh	Re-signed
Janne Laukkanen	D	Pittsburgh	Re-signed
Mark Moore	D	Harvard (NCAA)	Free agent
Aleksey Morosov	F	Pittsburgh	Re-signed
Toby Petersen	C	Colorado Coll. (NCAA)	Free agent
Billy Tibbetts	F	Johnstown (ECHL)	Free agent

Goings
Player	Pos.	To	Via
Pat Falloon	RW	Davos (Swiss)	Free agent
Jonas Andersson-Junkka	D	Columbus	Expansion
Tyler Moss	G	Carolina	Free agent
Peter Popovic	D	Boston	Free agent
Dan Trebil	D	N.Y. Islander	Free agent
Ron Tugnutt	G	Columbus	Free agent
Tyler Wright	F	Columbus	Expansion

Prospect Watch
Milan Kraft, C, 6' 3", 200
Born: Jan. 17, 1980 in Plezn, Czech Republic
Acquired: 1998 entry draft (No. 23 overall)
So far so good with the Czech invasion. Seven regulars on the Pens roster hail from the Czech Republic and Kraft may make it eight if, as expected, the top forward at the World Junior Championships (five goals, 12 points in seven games) gets significant ice time in Pittsburgh. Kraft provides the Penguins with some size and touch. Last season he scored 34 goals and 69 points with Prince Albert in the WHL. And how's this for an introduction into the NHL? He may end up on a line with Jagr.

Get the Highlighter
Friday, Oct. 6 vs. Nashville and Saturday, Oct. 7 at Nashville. Forget what you just read about where these games are taking place. The Penguins and Predators kick off the season in Japan.
Wednesday, Nov. 8 vs. Philadelphia. The Penguins were ousted from last year's playoffs by Philadelphia, and will have to wait until early November for their first chance at revenge.

Quoteworthy
"Short term, it looks good. Obviously, we still need the total support of the corporate community and all of our fans. That's what's going to keep us in business, to have people come out and buy season tickets and support the team. I think we have a chance to make money this year and go forward. But ... it's going to take a lot of hard work and a lot of support from our fans."
—Mario Lemieux

Team-by-team previews compiled by CNNSI.com's Ken Klavon, Jamie MacDonald and Jimmy Traina.

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