No offer sheet for Meszaros unless ...

Let's start here. The Lightning does not have the compensation it would need to give the Senators in order to sign disgruntled Ottawa defenseman Andrej Meszaros to an offer sheet. Based on what it likely would take to sign him (the Ottawa Sun reported it would be about $5-million), the Lightning would have to give Ottawa first-, second- and third-round draft picks as compensation. Right now, the Lightning's third-round pick is in the hands of the Penguins. It is confusing because Tampa Bay has a third-round pick, acquired from San Jose in the Dan Boyle deal. But NHL rules (10.4 of the collective bargaining agreement) say compensation must be with a team's original draft picks. Tampa Bay sent its third-round pick to the Penguins in the June deal for the rights to Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts.

Is the Lightning talking to the Penguins? You would think it would at least explore the possibility of a deal. (Hey, how would you like Michel Ouellet back?)

It would make sense the Lightning would be interested in Meszaros, shown here battling Boyle last season. He will be 23 on Oct. 13. He has 16 goals and 71 points the past two seasons and last season had six power-play goals.

But it also makes sense that Tampa Bay would rather trade for Meszaros than sign him to an offer sheet, and the scuttlebutt out of Ottawa is the Lightning spoke to the Senators on Thursday. The Lightning already is close to the $56.7-million cap. Another $5-million in salary would send the team in the opposite direction of its stated goal of trimming some of that payroll before the season. A trade would accomplish that as the Senators could have their pick of several decent forwards, including Ouellet and Jussi Jokinen, along with draft choices or prospects.

Going the offer sheet route has much uncertainty. Even if the Lightning and Penguins get together and find common ground, the Senators, rather than lose Meszaros for nothing, could ultimately match Tampa Bay's offer. Even that process, though, could help Tampa Bay as acquiring the third-round pick from Pittsburgh could involve sending the Penguins some players which, again, would lighten the Lightning's payroll.

To take this to an even further extreme, the Lightning would have to sign Meszaros to a contract worth less than $4-million in order for the compensation to decline. But even that creates a problem as the next lower level of compensation also includes a third-round pick.

Complicating all this is Canada's TSN reported Meszaros already has signed an offer sheet, though the Senators denied it. If true, this whole conversation is moot. 

That is a lot of moving parts.         

Comments

[PD]

Sources are saying this aft that the Lightening have arranged with Pitt to reaquire their 3rdpick.

[Geoff]

Ottawa fan here, just looking to see the other sides of the story. A quick note that if TB did do this offer sheet (after getting the 3rd rounder back from Pitt) and the value was in excess of over $5M, Murray and the Sens would decline that same day. Murray is offering him 3.5M and Meszaros is asking 4.5M, so clearly a 5M+ offer sheet would get him to the Bolts and get us some picks and cap space.

[Shawn Medero]

Man given the number of sources and amount of noise involving Tampa on this topic one has to assume we're involved somehow. (Unlike the "VL4 is being traded to Montreal" rumor that always comes from the same set of Montreal outlets...)

I'm not really sure we are that interested in a player with Meszaros's skillset though. Could it be that we traded one component to get another team in position to sign Meszaros?

[Don in St. Pete]

Shawn, I have been wondering the same thing myself. However, we can use any legitimate top 4 help we can muster on the backline.

[Boltflasher]

Say huh?! "I'm not really sure we are that interested in a player with Meszaros's skillset though." Since when?....

[BoltsFan91]

Why wouldn't we be interested in Meszaros. He is a very good defenceman. I would be happy if we got him. He was on the Sens first line and tore it up. He is still young, like the rest of the Lightning's defence, but he has more experience as a first liner. I think it would be a good pickup all-in-all. He would help cap off our team as it is.

We have so many big name forwards in our lineup as of right now and we don't need them. It is sad because we have alot of potential that needs to be on the ice and they can't because we already have too many forwards. I think getting rid of a few higher payed forwards, even if they would be starting, would be a good deal. Getting rid of maybe Ryan Craig or Chris Gratton(Even though I would hate seeing them leave) you have to look at it as how will it help the team and if it takes getting rid of one or both of them it would still be okay. We have plenty of forwards to take their place.

No matter what anybody says, WE NEED A MORE DEVELOPED DEFENCE. Our entire defence is either young or there time never came for them to be a starter.

I say Tampa does whatever they need to do to get Maszaros.

[Steve R]

BoltsFan,

You would need to shed 2m of salary to come in under the cap. Both Craig and Gratton are centers, no? And Halpern is damaged. Which would leave you V4, Stamkos and who at center?

[Don in St. Pete]

Steve, Hall and Roberts have played a lot of center over their careers. Tarnasky is a natural center, but I don't forsee us trading Gratton, though Craig could be a possibility.

[Boltflasher]

Jokinen, Ouellet, and Ward are our major excess at forward, not Gratton or Craig due to the ???? status of Halpern...

[Boltflasher]

"Sources told Sun Media last night that Lightning owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie have told the Senators they intend to pursue Meszaros if Ottawa doesn't deal him to the Bolts".

http://www.ottawasun.com/Sports/Hockey/2008/08/29/6603526-sun.html