With Leopold Now In The Mix, Who Else Are The Penguins Targeting Before The Deadline?

After Pens' GM Ray Shero's somewhat surprising deal earlier today for Florida Panthers' defenseman Jordan Leopold, it only seems logical that another deal (or two) is on the horizon.

At this stage, the Penguins have a surplus of defenseman. Head Coach Dan Blysma has already indicated that Leopold will be a regular and, really, that's not unexpected.

Leopold played a lot of minutes in Florida and, while his game is more offense than defense, he was generally relatively reliable at both ends more often than not. Here's a brief piece from blog writer Steve Gorten of the Florida Sun Sentinel announcing the deal:

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_hockey_panthers/2010/03/florida-panthers-leopold-headed-to-penguins-in-trade.html

So, who else are the Penguins looking at around the league?

I've heard a number of names connected to the club in the last 4-6 weeks. Some are obvious and known; others less so, and some are more likely to be on the move than others.

Here's the list, with my thoughts on several of the players below:

Stephane Robidas
James Neal
Jamie Benn
Mark Fristic
Brad Boyes
Dan Hamhuis
Andy Sutton
Ethan Moreau
Teemu Selanne
Scott Niedermayer
Raffi Torres
Aaron Ward
Alexei Ponikarovsky
Natahan Horton
Ray Whitney
Garnet Exelby
Andrew Alberts
Peter Mueller

Of all the names on the list, the guys the Penguins are most known to be pursuing are Torres, Hamhuis and Whitney.

Of course, many other teams are chasing those three guys, as well.

Shero was hot on Torres' trail before the Olympic trade freeze took effect, and there was some thought that he might consummate a deal for Torres then. He has been trying to convince Blue Jackets' GM Scott Howsen to accept prospect Dustin Jeffrey and a third roound pick for him.

Even with the surprise addition of Leopold, I have to think that Shero continues to take a hard look at Hamhuis.

Hamhuis is a defensive defenseman who's fairly smart in his own zone, good positionally and with his stick, and physical. Why is Nashville dangling him? Beacuse he's going to be an unrestricted free agent this summer and, even forgetting about Shea Weber and Ryan Suter for a minute, the Predators have a lot of good young defensemen on the blueline.

The problem with Hamhuis is that, barring something unexpected, the Penguins will be hard pressed to have him as anything other than a rental because his contract demands are likely to be in the Rob Scuderi range.

Still, the Penguins like Hamhuis a ton, feel he would fill a hole on their blueline, and are known to be in the thick of the bidding for him. If they can't get him, Shero may call good friend Islanders GM Garth Snow and see if he can pull off a repeat of last year's deadline draft pick deal that landed Bill Guerin and add Andy Sutton to the mix this year.

Carolina Hurricanes' winger Ray Whitney may be the most anticipated potential acquisition for the Pens. Whitney has a no-trade clause, but he remains the hot property on the market at the deadline this year, and everyone sees him as an upgrade on the Penguins' current crop of wingers.

There's no doubt that Whitney would make that group better, but at what cost? Carolina GM Jim Rutherford is and has reportedly been asking for a first round pick for Whitney. As many observers know, Rutherford had a deal in place with the Los Angeles Kings for Whitney about 3 weeks ago, but Whitney -- an unrestricted free agent this summer -- wouldn't waive the no-trade clause without a new 3-year contract and the Kings balked at that.

Obviously, those two clubs continued talking and it surfaced a few days ago that the Kings tabled another deal that they intended to keep open until today. Now, word has come that: 1) LA has pulled that trade offer off the table, and 2) Whitney has submitted a list of 5 teams to which he'd accept a trade. Pittsburgh is one of those clubs, as are the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins.

I've heard that Whitney wants to come to Pittsburgh because, if he's not going to get the security of a 2 or 3 year contract, he wants to go to the place that gives him the best chance to win and boost his free agent value at the same time.

He reportedly sees Steeltown as that destination.

Beyond those three players, many observers have connected Toronto Maple Leafs' winger Alexei Ponikarovsky to the Penguins, but I haven't been able to obtain any confirmation that Shero is actively pursuing Ponikarovsky.

What does appear to be known, however, is that Shero may be looking to make a longer-term deal -- a trade that may involve Alex Goligoski, now that the Penguins have brought in a very similar type of player.

I've heard talk that Shero is interested in St. Louis Blues winger Brad Boyes -- who the Blues have surprisingly indicated is available -- and that he also has engaged in discussions with Dallas Stars' GM Joe Nieuwendyk about a few of their young wingers, James Neal and Jamie Benn.

Boyes is nice talent, who happens to be struggling this season. After 2 consecutive years of blossoming in St. Louis and scoring more than 30 goals, Boyes has barely gotten into double digits this year.

It's tantalizing to think what he could do playing with Crosby or Malkin, though, if the Blues are inclined to put more value on his subpar season this year than they should.

The same can be said of James Neal, who is one of Dallas' best goal scorers. He's already over the 20 mark this season and remains on the rise in his career. Benn is about 2 years behind Neal in the career progression, but following the same trajectory. He has good puck skills and speed, and shows a fair amount of potential.

Only time will tell if Shero makes a move for any of those three players, but it certainly isn't unreasonable to conclude that he's not finished dealing, and that what he did this morning in acquiring Leopold is only a harbinger of things to come.

Going into the deadline, Shero had been hoping to land a solid winger for a 2nd round draft pick. Even though he was not able to do that with this year's second round selection, he might be able to instead do it with a guy who has good upside, like Goligoski. Swapping the 2nd round pick for Leopold -- a player very similar to GoG -- could very well put him in a position to make that move. Time will tell.

The names most recognizable on the list -- Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne -- are real long shots to be moved at all, let alone join the Penguins. But I have heard their names connected to the team, so I felt it was incumbent to mention them.

Nathan Horton is another long-shot, if only because his ongoing 4 million dollar per year contract.

The other guys are mostly under the radar. For example, Stars' defenseman Mark Fristic would be a nice acquisition. He's a player many people in these parts don't know about.

In any event, that's a solid rundown of who the Penguins are reportedly after. I'll post news of any deal as I hear it, and if nothing breaks in the meantime, will have more tomorrow.