Paul Steigerwald

And so if they can continue to beat teams in their division and keep that record going, that'll help.

And maybe give them a better chance of finishing in that top three.

So it's not just the point total.

To me, it's where they finish because that wild card,

situation could become very competitive I know it's I don't think it's ever happened where one of the two wildcard teams finishes with more points than any of the teams in the top three but this might be one year where it could happen and I just hope the Penguins can just keep doing what they're doing they're kind of having a really good one game at a time focus right now I really believe they think they're good enough and nothing's going to shake their belief in themselves

Nothing.

And the loss of Sid certainly hasn't.

If anything, it's kind of a rallying point for them to kind of prove they could win without him and, you know, try to win it for him, that kind of thing.

So I have a lot of confidence in the fact that they're going to rack up at least that many points the rest of the year.

I think Kyle Dubas will continue to do what he's done, which is look for players who can help the team now and in the future and also get picks that he can use as further capital to maybe make other trades or to use those selections to get players.

I don't think he's going to deviate from what he's done.

And that doesn't mean that he wouldn't take a player that might also have an expiring contract, but he fills a need, say a defenseman or a

another center Iceman because, you know, they've lost Sid, and they're not as deep at center as you'd probably like to be if you have desires of, you know, going into the playoffs.

So I see a need for a couple different positions, but I don't think he's going to, like, abandon his program to get some guy who's got some huge salary that he's going to be stuck with for the next couple of years.

So he's going to look for somebody who can help them with their depth, somebody who also could maybe play for them a couple years from now,

a guy like Sam Gerrard, like what he did with him, like what he did with Chinakov.

And I think that's going to be his approach.

So I think his phone is going to be on the hook waiting for somebody to call, and he's going to be willing to do that.

And to answer your question more directly, I do think he would lean a little bit more towards being a buyer, if you will, because he does see a need knowing that his team has a legitimate shot to make the playoffs.

And with the East kind of being wide open,