With Less Than 24 Hours Until The Deadline, Shero Still Poking Around

With less than 24 hours until the trade deadline at 3 PM EST tomorrow afternoon, most of the players the Penguins are known to have interest in are still available.

Columbus Blue Jackets' winger Raffi Torres, Carolina Hurricanes winger Ray Whitney, and Nashville Predators' defenseman Dan Hamhuis are all still with their respectieve clubs.

Reports are that Torres won't be moved until tomorrow, but time will tell.

One guy the Penguins made several inquiries about before the Olympic trade freeze, however, is no longer available.

Hulking defensive defenseman Andy Sutton was traded today from the New York Islanders to the Ottawa Senators for a 2nd round draft choice this summer -- curiously the same round selection the Penguins just sent to the Florida Panthers for defenseman Jordan Leopold.

Would I rather have had Sutton? I don't know. His game fits more of what the Penguins need, in my opinion, but I haven't valued him as highly as some others seem to have, and I'm not sure he is worth a 2nd round pick. A 3rd maybe. Then again, I'm not sure Leopold is worth a 2nd rounder either, but you certainly can't say that his skill set isn't greater than Sutton's.

Sutton's contract is also about 1 million more per season than Leopold, so you have to factor that in.

Anyway, the Sens' acquisition of Sutton won't help the Penguins earn any position in the Eastern Conference. The Senators are one team they are jockeying with at the top of the bracket, and now that Ottawa has made a couple of nice depth pickups by adding him and former Carolina Hurricanes center Matt Cullen, they won't be any easier to contend with the rest of this year.

In the last several hours, word has surfaced about a few other guys the Penguins may be looking into.

Sources indicate that Pens' GM Ray Shero has made an inquiry to Toronto Maple Leafs' GM Brian Burke asking about Alexei Ponikarovsky.

"Poni", as he's known in Toronto, has long been rumored to be on the move before tomorrow's deadline. In fact, he's one of the more known quantities on the block.

Despite that, however, and despite the talk connecting the Penguins to him over the last month or so, it hasn't appeared to have a great deal of truth.

Until now.

Another guy reported to be on the block by respected TSN Canada hockey writer Bob McKenzie is Colorado Avalanche forward Wojtek Wolksi.

Wolksi has 17 goals and over 40 points this year and would be a curious pickup if the Penguins were able to get their hands on him. I don't know what the asking price is at this point, but I do know that the Penguins previously asked about his availability last season.

Again, it's going to be an interesting evening.

Stay tuned.