With the NHL season upon us, here are five critical fantasy hockey GMs need answered:

Is the Penguins offense diminished? Pittsburgh lost Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone from last year’s team. Defensemen Sergei Gonchar will miss most of the season with a shoulder injury and Ryan Whitney will miss a chunk with his broken foot. The supporting cast for Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin took huge hits.

The Pens put newcomers Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fetotenko on Crosby’s wings this preseason and hoped for the best. On a more positive note, Jordan Staal figures to have a breakout year as he moves from the No. 3 center role to flanking Malkin. Staal should also rack up big power-play numbers as well. Young defensemen Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski bear watching too.

Will Tampa Bay Lightning strike? New coach Barry Melrose is preaching a puck-control system, which should be good news for the top line of Vincent Lecavalier, Vinny Prospal and Martin St. Louis. But a second line (Ryan Malone, rookie Steve Stamkos and Radim Vrbata) would prosper as well.

The team swapped power-play quarterback Dan Boyle, but acquired Andrej Meszaros and Matt Carle. Can those two take big offensive steps? And will either Mike Smith or Olaf Kolzig get the job done in goal?

Will the San Jose Sharks attack? This team featured several fantasy hockey flops last season, including center Patrick Marleau and winger Jonathan Cheechoo. New coach Todd McLellan will have to jump-start the offense – and the addition of defensemen Dan Boyle and Rob Blake ought to help.

Watch power forward Ryane Clowe for a possible breakout if he sticks with Joe Thornton and Marleau. A No. 2 line featuring Milan Michalek and Joe Pavelski ought to give San Jose offensive depth.

Can old stars find new life in New York? Winger Markus Naslund allowed his offensive numbers to decline for four consecutive seasons. Now he is getting a fresh start in New York with playmaker Scott Gomez. He and former Senators defenseman Wade Redden are seeking to regain their all-star form.

Now that Jaromir Jagr is gone –along with his bad attitude – it will be fun to see if this team regains its old jump.

Can the concussion victims hold up? Flyers winger Simon Gagne and Bruins center Patrick Bergeron are trying to recover from severe cases of post-concussion syndrome. Both are being counted on to fill scoring-line roles for their team.

Gagne was originally hurt last Oct. 25. He tried to come back later in the season, but persistent symptoms forced him to shut down. He says he feels great, but he still trying to regain his timing for the Flyers. He could end up with Mike Richards and Daniel Briere this year.

As for Bergeron, he is back to full speed – manning the point of the first power-play unit and centering Marco Sturm and Phil Kessel on Boston’s second line.