Pascal Dupuis could have been insulted.

Perhaps he even should have been.

After all, when he joined the Penguins a week ago, most people seemed to see Dupuis in one of two ways.

Some viewed him as a throw-in in the trade that brought world-class right winger Marian Hossa to the Penguins from the Atlanta Thrashers. Others regarded Dupuis as more of an afterthought.

But if he was troubled by people giving Hossa all of the post-trade attention, Dupuis didn't let it show. In fact, Dupuis endorsed the idea.

"They should be [doing that]," he said. "They brought me along to take care of him."

That would be easier to do these days if Dupuis were a trained physical therapist, since Hossa hasn't played since spraining his right knee in his Penguins debut in Boston last Thursday.

Hossa will be in street clothes again tonight, when the Penguins face Tampa Bay at the St. Pete Times Forum. Dupuis, meanwhile, figures to fill a fairly significant role for his new team for the fourth game in a row.

He averaged more than 18 minutes of ice time per game in his first three appearances, including 20 minutes 54 seconds in a 3-2 shootout victory Sunday against the Thrashers. He has gotten work in every situation, although his special-teams duties focus more on penalty-killing than the power play.

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Today

• Game: Penguins at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7:38 p.m.
• TV: FSN Pittsburgh.

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The Penguins' forward combinations likely will be reconfigured when injured players such as Hossa and Sidney Crosby return, but for now, Dupuis is playing alongside Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy.

"He's got great speed and he works hard, creates plays," Staal said. "He sees the ice well. He tried to hit me a few times [Sunday] and I couldn't do anything with it. He's an all-around pretty good player."

That probably is why the Penguins wanted Dupuis included in the deal. He was blissfully unaware that Atlanta was willing to trade him, in part because negotiations on a new contract with the Thrashers had begun a few weeks earlier.

Dupuis broke into the NHL with Minnesota during the 2000-01 season, so he realizes that being moved is an occupational hazard. Still, he was confident enough about his place in Atlanta's plans that he didn't balk at teasing Hossa about the rampant speculation that Hossa was destined to be dealt.

"I kept bugging him that he was going to get traded right at the deadline," Dupuis said. "But I didn't think I was going to follow him."

The change of venue doesn't appear to have bothered Dupuis. The Thrashers' playoff hopes are on mathematical life support, while the Penguins are challenging for championships in the Atlantic Division and in the Eastern Conference.

"I was kind of surprised [to be dealt]," Dupuis said. "But it's a really good situation."

He is valuable to the Penguins because of his speed and versatility, and he has the potential to become a go-to guy for interviewers, too.

In a league where most players act as if they are being paid by the cliche, Dupuis has shown a rare knack for saying what he thinks. Witness these candid observations he offered after Sunday's game:

• On his former teammates rebounding from an early 2-0 deficit: "It's always easier to quit, but there are good guys on that team, guys who really do care. There are a couple of guys who don't, but some guys do care."

• On Tampa Bay settling to the bottom of the Eastern standings: "They have really good players, but if you look at their system, they need a good goalie, which they've lacked. It's too bad for them, because they're really good offensively."

Tampa Bay hopes it addressed those goaltending needs by acquiring Mike Smith from Dallas before the trade deadline a week ago. Dupuis, meanwhile, hopes he'll get more chances to display the scoring touch he showed when he got the Penguins' only goal in a 5-1 loss Thursday in Boston. It was his 11th goal of the season.

"I've done it in the past," he said. "I was more of a defensive guy the last couple of years, but I think I still have it in me somewhere."

If he's correct, Dupuis shouldn't expect to go unnoticed for much longer.