PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins owned the No. 1 pick twice in the last three NHL drafts. General manager Ray Shero isn't opposed to making it three times in four years.

Shero is weighing whether to deal the initial draft pick he would make as the Penguins' general manager — either by trading with St. Louis for the No. 1 pick or dealing down to add a more experienced player who could contribute immediately.

Unless they make a trade, the Penguins will pick second in the June 24 draft — the fourth year in a row they have had either the No. 1 or 2 pick.

"Yeah, I'd have some interest, sure," Shero said Thursday of a possible trade. "We know who we have rated second, I just want to be sure that when these things start coming at us, we're in a position to react. That we've already thought of those scenarios and know what we want to do. We want to be as prepared as possible and ready to go."

Shero held a conference call Thursday with his scouting staff to discuss the various possibilities.

In recent years, the Penguins would have been reluctant to trade so high a draft pick. But with no clearly established No. 1 player — the top five players have similar ratings — they might be able to trade down a few spots, add a veteran and still get a quality first-r

Shero is convinced the Penguins will be much stronger if they can secure their No. 2 pick of two years ago, Russian forward Evgeni Malkin.

After months of stalled talks, the NHL and Russia's hockey federation are close to a deal that would allow NHL clubs to purchase the rights to Russian players. Last year, the Russian federation refused to honor the transfer agreement reached between the NHL and the other European nations.

The 19-year-old Malkin starred in the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, and is widely considered the best player in hockey not in the NHL.

"I think we'll hear something in the next few days," Shero said.