NEW YORK -- Ron Hextall is well aware of what the Penguins have -- and haven't -- done during the past five periods.
How they've allowed 15 goals and, accordingly, have been guilty of some very leaky team defense.
But while he continues to explore the market in advance of the NHL trade deadline Monday at 3 p.m., Hextall said he won't make a move in response to the many lapses and letdowns of late, because he feels those are an aberration.
"I don't believe the last two games have necessarily been an indictment of our team," he said. "You can't look at two games and think we have to make a move because we played poorly for two games."
Indeed, Hextall told a conference call Wednesday that he won't necessarily do anything before the deadline, partly because he likes the team he has -- especially if and when it is fairly healthy -- and partly because salary cap issues and the limited number of assets with which he has to deal restrict just how much he can do.
To that end, Hextall sounds as if anyone he would add -- and he still would like to pick up a physical forward -- likely will be a "rental" player whose contract is about to expire, as opposed to coming via a "hockey trade" that would involve getting (and giving up) guys who would remain on their new club's payroll for a while.
Not that he would rule out making a conventional trade if an attractive one comes along.
"When you're a manager, you have to listen to everything and consider everything," Hextall said. "But I do like the chemistry that we've built over the last six, seven weeks, so you certainly can't overlook that. If it would be anything, it would be more of a deal to help us right now. We do have a cap issue next year, so you have to be cognizant of that. There's expansion next year. You have to be cognizant of that. So I think anything we look at right now will be something that can make us better right now."
That's the objective a lot of teams have, because most still believe they have a realistic shot at attaining their preseason goal, whether it's qualifying for the playoffs or winning the Stanley Cup.
Hextall reiterated that he believes the Penguins, as currently constituted, are a legitimate member of the latter group.
"There is a balance in the league, a lot of teams that have a chance of winning," he said. "I certainly put us as one of those teams. I think our players believe that, as well."
The Penguins, of course, have been relying on a watered-down lineup of late because of injuries to key personnel like Evgeni Malkin, Kasperi Kapanen and Teddy Blueger. A few weeks ago, Hextall thought he might have to add a center because Malkin and Blueger were out, but the work of guys like Jared McCann and Frederick Gaudreau at that position have taken away some of the urgency to do that.
"We've had some guys do a pretty good job in the middle," he said. "The one thing the injuries have done is to make us feel more comfortable with the depth that we have."
Draft picks and prospects are the currency of the realm as the trade deadline approaches and the Penguins have precious few of either, so Hextall will be reluctant to part with either unless they'd be part of a trade too good to ignore.
"It would really have to make us noticeably a better team to make us part with future assets," he said. "If that's there, we will weigh it out. We have to balance now and the future. We're certainly not going to give critical future assets away for players who might make us (nominally) better or add depth."
Their depth will improve dramatically when the Penguins get the likes of Malkin and Kapanen back, but there is no known target date for either to rejoin the lineup, though Malkin did resume skating Wednesday morning in Cranberry, Pa. And Hextall noted the threat of a letdown if and when the Penguins do get back to something resembling a healthy roster.
"When we get those guys back, the danger is that you sit back a little bit, think that when (Malkin and Kapanen) are added to the group, it's going to be easy, and it's not," he said. "We'll have to fight that at some point."
Those two won't return until well after the deadline, though, and the Penguins can't wait nearly that long to deal with the defensive problems they've had during the past couple of games.
"We have to play better," Hextall said. "It's the whole group. It's not just the defensemen and it's not just the forwards. It's the whole group, defensively, being in sync and making good decisions. Having good sticks and good angles and good D-zone reads. We've been very sloppy."
That has to change, but Hextall doesn't sound as if he believes the roster must in order to make it happen.
"I certainly don't like the last two games," he said. "We have some cleaning up to do, for sure. But I like where we're at right now."
