Sources: Pens brass see's top-6 winger as biggest need but current market has team evaluating depth options

Trade talks league wide have finally started to pick up a bit in the past 48 hours but the market remains a bad one for buyers due to a limited amount of sellers and high asking prices for aging UFA's on the downside of their careers like Montreal Canadiens defenseman Hal Gill.

As one scout joked last week, "any defenseman with a pulse is worth a second round pick" and the market for a role player is set thanks to the Tampa Bay Lightning who got a very nice return for Dominic Moore, acquiring a second round pick from the San Jose Sharks. Moore was said to be a Penguins target as the team has been seeking depth options.

The Moore trade will only enhance the asking prices for the likes of Travis Moen and Paul Gaustad.

Meanwhile, aside from Rick Nash, the top-6 winger market is projected to be among the worst in recent years as Ryan Smyth, Tuomo Ruutu are off the trade block, and notable names Teemu Selanne, Ray Whitney, Shane Doan, and PA Parenteau are not available at this point.

For young players like Blues winger Chris Stewart, Canucks winger Mason Raymond and Toronto's trio of Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin, Clark MacArthur who are proven scorers now or in the past and have high upside, the asking prices are high.

However, for teams looking to take a chance, several underachieving wingers are available including Ales Hemsky (in contract talks with Oilers), Brad Boyes, David Jones, Dustin Penner, and Andrei Kostitsyn among others.

Sources say GM Ray Shero and top members of the Penguins brass met last night for almost an hour following yesterday's game to discuss where things stand for the team on the trade front and those discussions continued throughout today.

Ideally, team sources indicate the Penguins see their biggest need being a scoring forward not a defenseman, as the team has big concerns about their inability to score at even strength.