NHL Trade Deadline: Lightning Acquire Keith Aulie From Toronto For Top Prospect

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NHL Trade Deadline 2012: Recap Of Busy Day For Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning had a very busy NHL Trade Deadline, as well as the 11 day leading up to it. Our Lightning blog Raw Charge has a complete recap of the past couple of weeks in Lightning-land and all the moves they've made. here is the basic in-and-out of all the players that made a move for the Lightning.

The Lightning have added: defensemen Keith Aulie, Mike Commodore, Brian Lee and Sebastien Piche, forwards Jon Kalinski, Brendon Segal and Tim Wallace and a 2012 1st round, one definite 2012 2nd round, one 2012 or 2013 2nd round and one 2012 4th round draft pick.

In exchange for: Defensemen Matt Gilroy and Pavel Kubina, forwards Carter Ashton, Steve Downie, Matt Fornataro and Dominic Moore, a 7th round pick in the 2012 and a possible 7th round draft pick in 2013.

The Lightning find themselves six spots out of the playoff race, and the performance of some of the new guys will help decide if they are able to squeeze in by the end of the year.

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NHL Trade Deadline: Lightning Send Matt Gilroy To Ottawa

Monday has been a particularly busy day for the Tampa Bay Lightning and general manager Steve Yzerman. Hours after two deals to bolster their blue line depth, the Lightning sent defenseman Matt Gilroy to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for defensement Brian Lee.

Lee is the third defenseman Tampa Bay has added to their roster on Monday. He has one goal and eight points in 35 games for the Senators this season.

Gilroy had two goals and 17 points in 53 games with the Lightning this season.

The move adds some certainty to Tampa’s roster. Gilroy, 27, is due for unrestricted free agency after this season. Lee, just 24, will be a restricted free agent.

Together, Yzerman’s three Monday deals, as well as a move last week to acquire Sebastian Piche and a first-round draft pick, make the Lightning’s blue line younger, speedier and stronger, particularly Lee and Keith Aulie, who was added earlier on Monday.

For more on this move, check out SB Nation’s blog on the Lightning, Raw Charge.

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NHL Trade Deadline: Lightning Acquire Keith Aulie From Toronto For Top Prospect

An hour after acquiring defenseman Mike Commodore in a trade with the Red Wings, the Tampa Bay Lightning have struck again. Not content with his blue line depth, Lightning GM Steve Yzerman went back to the trade market to acquire another blue liner:

TOR receives Carter Ashton from TB for Keith Aulie.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 27, 2012

Carter Ashton was ranked by the site Bolt Prospects as the No. 1 prospect in the Lightning organization, and he was dominating down in the AHL this season. Ashton had scored 19 goals (and racked up 35 points) in 56 games, while scoring on an impressive 15% of his shots. He is a large, young forward, and his future certainly seems bright:

Carter in still a work in progress, but the foundation is there for him to develop into an NHL power forward who will have a long and successful career. He may need one season in the AHL with Norfolk before that happens. His father, Brent, was a solid 25 goal, 50-55 point a year man in the NHL and the apple doesn’t appear to fall that far from the tree. Carter projects to be a solid second line winger who will do the dirty work for his linemates and bang home 20-30 goals a season like NHLers Ryan Malone or Dustin Penner. (Bolt Prospects)

Steve Yzerman had stated going into today that he did not want to give up any top prospects, so considering the fact that he just traded the top prize in his farm system, he must think the world of Keith Aulie. Aulie is a large (6’5", 217 lbs.), defense-first defender, and he was widely considered the top defensive prospect in Toronto’s system. He has played in 17 games with the Maple Leafs so far this season, so although he’s only 22 years old, he could slot in and help the Bolts immediately on defense.

Aulie will likely be a work in progress and need some help to refine his game, but his youth and upside are attractive. If he can turn into a top four defender in the NHL, the Lightning will have a young duo of defenders to build around in Aulie and Victor Hedman. Considering the Bolts have a large amount of offensive depth, it makes sense to deal Ashton for a defensive prospect with promise.

This trade might be difficult to swallow at first for Bolts fans, and it’s certainly an aggressive, risky move by Yzerman. The process behind it is solid, though, so Lightning fans will have to hope Aulie can develop into a long-term fix.

For more on this move, check out SB Nation’s blog on the Lightning, Raw Charge.

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NHL Trade Deadline 2012: Lightning Acquire Defenseman Mike Commodore

While the Tampa Bay Lightning have made several moves in shipping out veterans like Pavel Kubina and Steve Downie, the front office made a move today to add defensive player Mike Commodore from the Detriot Red Wings according to Bob McKenzie of TSN.

Confirming Mike Commodore from DET to TB for a conditional 7th round pick. #TradeCentre

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 27, 2012

Commodore has only played in 17 games this season with only 2 assists. In his career on six different teams, including New Jersey, Columbus, Carolina, Calgary and Ottawa, Commodore has scored 23 goals with 83 assists. He also has 666 penalty minutes in his career.

The Lightning has been looking for some depth at defense since trading Downie and this trade gives them a hard nosed defenseman that is not afraid to mix things up with opponents. Whether the Lightning can use this acquisition to try and get into the playoffs remain to be seen.

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NHL Trade Deadline: Tampa Bay Lightning Trade Pavel Kubina To Flyers

After sitting him for Thursday night’s game against the Sharks, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before the Tampa Bay Lightning traded defenseman Pavel Kubina. The Lightning dealt fellow blue-liner Dominic Moore before their game against the Sharks, but it took a few more days for them to finalize a trade for Kubina.

Then finally, on late Saturday night the news came out: the Lightning were sending Kubina to the Philadelphia Flyers for a package of draft picks and prospects:

The Lightning received a conditional second-round draft pick for either 2012 or ’13, a 2013 fourth-round pick and minor-league LW Jon Kalinski, who will be assigned to AHL Norfolk. (Tampa Bay Times)

Kalinski was tossed in because the Flyers needed to shed a contract to stay under the 50-contract cap, but he is young (24) and has some limited NHL experience. GM Steve Yzerman sees him as a valuable asset on the penalty kill, and considering the state of the Lightning’s defense at the moment, he could see time with the Bolts over the remainder of the season.

The Lightning now have up to four second-round draft picks in the 2012 draft, which will allow the Bolts to either restock their system or trade for a position of need this off-season (like a young, successful goalie). Yzerman has also managed to ship off two players that were going to be unrestricted free agents this off-season, essentially bringing in draft picks for players that would have otherwise walked away for nothing. It’s a sound strategy, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Yzerman isn’t yet done for this trading season.

The NHL trade deadline is still a week away, and there are a number of players on the Lightning that could still be dealt (Brett Clark, Steve Downie, etc.). Even though the Bolts aren’t in contention any more, this could be one heck of an interesting deadline season.

For more on the Bolts, check out the Tampa Bay Lightning blog Raw Charge.

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NHL Trade Deadline: Lightning Could Be Close To Trading Pavel Kubina

The NHL Trade Deadline is starting to get close, and it seems like the Lightning are starting to get close to making a trade. And based on this series of tweets, it looks like defenseman Pavel Kubina could be on the move.

Lightning D Pavel Kubina not on ice for morning skate. Yzerman scheduled to speak soon. We'll see what's up.

— Damian Cristodero (@LightningTimes) February 16, 2012

This next tweet is even more incriminating.

Lightning D Kubina has been asked to provide a list of teams to whom he would accept trade.

— Damian Cristodero (@LightningTimes) February 16, 2012

Kubina has been with the Lightning for two years and has three points and eight assists in 52 games played so far this year. We will update you as soon as we have more information about a trade materializing.

For more on the upcoming trade deadline and all things Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey, please head over to Raw Charge.

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NHL Trade Deadline: Steve Yzerman Will Let Market Dictate What Lightning Do

The NHL trade deadline is coming up and the Lightning have been very noncommittal about what they are going to do. General Manager Steve Yzerman has been very coy with the media, and according to Sean Gentille of the Sporting News, Yzerman says that he will let the market will dictate what the Lightning do moving forward.

"The trade market dictates what, if anything, we're going to do," Yzerman told the Tampa Bay Times earlier this week. "At this point there's nothing that makes any sense that is the right thing to do whether it's short or long term."

The article goes on to speculate that talks could focus on Ryan Malone, a forward who has drawn interest from other teams around the league at various points over the past couple of years.

For more on the upcoming trade deadline and all things Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey, please head over to Raw Charge.

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NHL Trade Deadline: Lightning Still Waiting Things Out

As the NHL trade deadline gets closer, the Tampa Bay Lightning are stuck in the middle and GM Steve Yzerman is playing his cards close to the chest.