PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) — Penguins General Manager Ray Shero has been tabbed as somewhat of a wizard for his history of making outstanding deadline deals before the NHL trade deadline.

The 2012 edition of Shero’s resume won’t highlight any big names or moves. Rather, it will mark his confidence in a roster that, without captain Sidney Crosby, has positioned itself fourth in the Eastern Conference with just over one month remaining in the regular season.

“I said this six weeks ago when we had lost six in a row, I like our team and I believe in our hockey team,” Shero said Monday after the deadline passed. “I still do and I’m comfortable with this team moving forward. That’s where we are.”

Shero said that some offers were made before the deadline, but many, he said, involved too high of an asking price or a player that didn’t fit the Penguins system.

Pittsburgh is currently riding a three-game winning streak and is 6-3-1 in its last 10 games. Including an eight-game winning streak that started in mid-January, the Penguins are 15-4-1 in their last 20 games.

The consistent winning combined with tons of playoff experience on the roster convinced Shero that a move need not be made.

“We have a lot of guys here who have won the Stanley Cup,” Shero said. “I just think that we have a pretty good hockey team here with our leadership and the character we have on our hockey team. The special teams have been good. Our penalty kill has been amongst the top in the league. Our power play has been very good, obviously.

“Just a lot of things have come together for us and we’ve got some of these injured players back. We have a number of those guys who have rings in the room. That counts for something as we move forward towards the playoffs.”

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