After two weeks of speculation originally dismissed by the new owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning the club has traded defenseman Dan Boyle.

Only four days after his new contract with a no-trade clause came into effect, Boyle agreed to waive the clause to be dealt to the San Jose Sharks.

Going to the Sharks with Boyle is veteran defenseman Brad Lukowich in exchange for defenseman Matt Carle, blueline prospect Ty Wishart, a first round pick in 2009 and a fourth round pick in 2010.

After signing an aging Rob Blake from the LA Kings the Sharks have now given themselves what they hope to be the final missing piece of the puzzle in Boyle to put them over the top as a Stanley Cup contender.

Boyle turns 32 in July and despite missing considerable playing time last season to a freak dressing room injury (a skate blade severed tendons in his wrist) he’s still in his prime and was capable of posting up 25 points in 37 games last season.

His -29 plus/minus rating ranked among the worst in the NHL but that is partially due to a Lightning team that was in disarray late in the season and in freefall in the standings.

On a better team like the Sharks Boyle should be a strong factor in their offensive game, particularly on the power-play, and with his experience as part of the Lightning’s 2004 Stanley Cup playoff run makes an upgrade over the departed Brian Campbell.

It’s difficult to understand the mindset of the Lightning’s new ownership. They were considered the driving force in the Bolts re-signing Boyle last season to a five-year, $6.67 million per season contract before they’d officially taken over ownership of the team.

Then came the Lightning’s recent acquisitions of forwards, such as Ryan Malone ($4.5 million per season), Vaclav Prospal ($3.5 million per season), Radim Vrbata ($3 million per season) and Gary Roberts ($1.25 million), and suddenly the Lighting were pushing perilously close to the salary cap, and that meant something had to give.

Moving Boyle frees up considerable cap space and the additions of Carle and Wishart will replace the gaps on the blueline left by the departures of Boyle and Lukowich, although they won’t replace the experience of the two and Carle will face the pressure of being one of the Lightning’s top two defensemen.

Freeing up cap space and getting younger is one thing, but then why did they even both re-signing Boyle in the first place if the plan was to load on offense?

Carle and Wishart also won’t address the fact that the Lighting blueline was thin before they dealt away Boyle and Lukowich.

Carle and Ranger will probably be the top two pairing, leaving Filip Kuba, Shane O’Brien, Alexandre Picard, Doug Janik and Wishart as the remainder of the defense corps.

The Lightning now look like a team with strong forward depth, decent goaltending in promising Mike Smith and recent acquisition Olaf Kolzig, and a defense corps that could be the club’s Achilles heel.

It’s been an exciting off-season thus far for the Lightning with all their recent moves, as well as the re-signing of franchise player Vincent Lecavalier and the selection of future star Steve Stamkos in the entry draft.

It’ll be interesting to see how well this team, with a suspect defense and a new head coach who hasn’t been behind an NHL bench in 13 years, looks on the ice next season.  

The list of potential restricted free agents for next summer continues to shrink.

Just a day after the Anaheim Ducks re-signed center Ryan Getzlaf to a long-term extension, the San Jose Sharks announced the re-signing of defenseman Matt Carle to a four-year, $13.75 million extension.

Carle is the second restricted free agent they’ve re-signed well in advance of July 2008, having this past summer re-upped forward Milan Michalek to a long-term extension.

The Sharks also re-signed forwards Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau this past off-season. Both were eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer.

It’s obvious Sharks general manager Doug Wilson is taking no chances with his top players, preferring to lock them up as early as possible to extensions to avoid paying more either via the UFA market or offer sheets or risk losing those players to rival clubs.

Carle had a very strong rookie campaign in 2006-07, with 11 goals and 42 assists and a plus-minus rating of +9, and being named to the NHL’s All Rookie team. He’s also shown considerable poise under playoff conditions.

He’s not having a strong sophomore season, currently on pace for only 26 points thus far, but there’s no question that he has a promising future and should blossom into an experienced puck-moving blueliner, particularly on the powerplay.

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Sheldon Souray has been featuring prominently in the rumor mill of late.

That's not surprising, given the Habs desperately clinging to one of the final playoff berths in the East, combined with his status this summer as an unrestricted free agent.

Big Shel's put up impressive offensive numbers this season, akin to last year's performance by Toronto Maple Leafs blueliner Bryan McCabe.

Like McCabe, Souray has that big shot from the point which provides the "power" in his team's powerplay. Also like McCabe, Souray's defensive game can be considered average at best.

Regardless, it's the offensive numbers that will guarentee Souray a big payday, either with the Habs or, as widely speculated, with another team, possibly one based in California where he can live and work closer to his young daughter, who lives with his ex-wife in Los Angeles.

Using McCabe as the comparable, Souray is likely to seek a similar deal (five years, $28.5 million) and will probably get it, if not from the Canadiens, then from somebody else.

That would seemingly be enough to perhaps convince GM Bob Gainey to consider jettisoning Souray by the deadline in hopes of a healthy return.

Hence the reason why Souray's name is featuring so prominently in recent rumor chatter. There's talk of the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks making a pitch for him, with names like Matt Carle, Joe Pavelski, Bobby Ryan and picks and prospects being kicked around.

I don't doubt that Gainey is receiving inquiries about Souray, but at the risk of this blowing up in my face, I'm not convinced that Gainey wants to move him.

At least not yet, anyway. While the trade deadline is fast approaching, Gainey could wait until the day itself before pulling the trigger. He might want to evaluate his club's performance over its next two or three games.

There's also the recent report from Sportsnet claiming Gainey not only won't trade Souray but will attempt to re-sign him.

I really like what Souray brings to the Habs offensive game, but I'm not thrilled over the prospect of paying $5.75 million per season to retain him.

I also have to figure that, if Gainey were receiving offers of Matt Carle, Joe Pavelski and a high pick from the Sharks, or Bobby Ryan, a pick and prospect from the Ducks, that he might've moved on one of those by now.

Quite frankly, I don't see the Sharks parting with those promising youngsters, even though GM Doug Wilson has been actively seeking an experienced puckmoving d-man throughout this season.

As for Anaheim, if Brian Burke is unwilling to part with his young players or the highly rated Ryan for rentals like Todd Bertuzzi or Keith Tkachuk, he's certainly not gonna part with them for a rental like Sheldon Souray.

None of this, of course, will keep Souray's name out of the rumor mill. All I'll say is that, barring a public declaration from Gainey, the Habs performance over their next two games might have some bearing on whether or not Souray gets traded by February 27th.

**UPDATE** Regarding Gainey's much-anticipated press conference, Habs Inside Out posted his comments. Suffice to say, I wouldn't expect a major deadline day swap by Monsieur Bob.