Penguins/NHL
Sources tell me the Pittsburgh Penguins have stepped up their efforts in the last 12 hours to acquire their top target Columbus Blue Jackets winger Raffi Torres before the 3:00 p.m. deadline.
Indications are Columbus is holding extensive talks with Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and Boston today. As of early this morning, word out of Columbus was that no significant moves were going to be made but Los Angeles and Boston have stepped up to the plate today, forcing the Penguins hand to make a serious play for Torres before the 3:00 p.m. deadline.
The Penguins inability to move salary put trade talks with Columbus on hold prior to today and remains an issue for the team to make a move today.
Per a team source, the Penguins have given Columbus a list of prospects they are willing to move for Torres, however, the consensus from team sources is that a deal won’t be struck before today’s deadline due to cap issues.
Updated: 2:01 p.m. – Per James Murphy of NESN.com, just reported at 1:54 p.m., “According to a source, either the B’s or Pens could end up with him before the Winter Olympics roster freeze goes into effect at 3 p.m. ET on Friday.”
Stay tuned
