Ray Shero is prepared to consult with his scouts and staff right up until the NHL trade deadline at 3 p.m. today.

To continue placing phone calls to any or all of the league's other 29 general managers and fielding them from the rest. To swap offers and counter-offers in an effort to upgrade his roster for the stretch drive and playoffs. And, ideally, for at least a few seasons into the future.

If things break right, perhaps Shero will be able to acquire that reliable, physical veteran his defense could use, or even a goal-scoring winger who would thrive playing alongside Sidney Crosby.

And if they don't, well, Shero could end up with nothing more than a bloated phone bill.

"If we can add [in a way] that makes sense, that would be good," he said. "But we have to be careful, as well.

"You have a lot of conversations with teams. You want to try to see what other teams are doing, who might be available or what might happen [as a ripple effect] if someone gets traded."

Not surprisingly, negotiations gain urgency and momentum in the hours leading up to the deadline, so the final day on which trades are allowed is the busiest one. To this point there have been tsunamis of speculation but barely a trickle of action.

"A number of teams you talk to don't have anything going at this point," Shero said yesterday.

The Penguins were one of them. Shero acknowledged that it's "too early to tell" whether he is likely to complete a deal today but volunteered that, "I have nothing imminent."

He agreed that it is "pretty much" a seller's market, because so few teams are actively looking to shed players and/or payroll and so many hope to add a piece or two to their personnel puzzle.

The reason for that is no secret: Going into last night's games, all but five of the league's 30 teams either were in the top eight in their conference or within six points of the eighth spot. Because only a handful of clubs have no realistic chance of qualifying for the playoffs, the law of supply-and-demand is firmly in favor of those who control the supply.

The pool of available talent has changed constantly in recent days, as some players (like Toronto center Mats Sundin and a number of his teammates) have gone off the market after refusing to waive no-trade clauses, while others (such as Atlanta winger Marian Hossa) have been added after failing to negotiate contract extensions.

Shero's approach to team-building mitigates against paying a steep price for a big-ticket rental player such as Hossa, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Such players generate the biggest headlines at this time of year but don't always have the greatest impact.

"There's no guarantee, as history shows, that one big part is putting anyone over the top," Shero said.

And while Shero will not flatly rule out making a move to provide primarily a short-term upgrade, he doesn't seem inclined to get into a bidding war that inflates a player's asking price.

"As with anything, it depends on the cost," he said. "It's like when you go shopping for a car. You might like something, but it's way out of your price range, or if you have a family budget, sometimes it's not going to fit into what you want to do."

Precisely what the Penguins are willing to part with will hinge on what they're being offered. Scouts from a few clubs have shown interest in forward Erik Christensen during the course of the season, for example, but that doesn't mean the Penguins are willing, let alone eager, to part with him.

Fact is, Shero has made it clear he would prefer to add to, not subtract from, his major-league roster, although that presumably is a preference, not a rigid policy.

Adding a capable body, or even projecting how a player's game will mesh with those of the guys around him, isn't Shero's only concern as he contemplates potential deals. He also has to consider how the personalities of anyone he brings in will fit with those already here.

"Chemistry is a big part of what we've accomplished so far," Shero said. "You have to be careful [about altering] that."

That's the prevailing sentiment inside the locker room, where most players wouldn't complain if the current roster remains intact.

"I think we're pretty solid right now," Crosby said. "The guys compete very hard and the chemistry we have, I'm sure that's something that's very [fragile], so I'm sure he's very sensitive to that. I like our lineup."