Trade Deadline Day Live Blog 2/27

Could Eric Tangradi be on the move?

Trade deadline day is here! The Penguins organization could very well stand pat this year, but you never know when an offer will come to the table that GM Ray Shero will pull the trigger on.

This is a live blog and will remain updated with any trades involving the Penguins organization as well as relevant AHL moves affecting teams the AHL Penguins could see in the playoffs. Initial reactions will be on the Twitter side with a blog update following shortly after.

Stay tuned!

UPDATE 3:00 p.m. EST - The 3 p.m. deadline has passed but that doesn't mean the trades won't keep coming in. Last year, seven deals were announced after the deadline.  But now the attention turns to players being sent down to the AHL today so they can be eligible for the rest of the AHL season and playoffs.

For the WBS Penguins, I'm hoping Eric Tangradi and Brad Thiessen are sent down so they can be eligible to play in the AHL playoffs. Haven't seen anything yet, but unless they're involved in last second trades I would be shocked if they were sent down at least for the day so they can play in the AHL again this year.

2:00 p.m. EST - The first major trade affecting the WBS Penguins has occurred. Tampa Bay has traded Norfolk's big forward Carter Ashton to the Toronto Maple Leafs for defenseman Keith Aulie. Both players are likely to play with the AHL teams of those organizations.

So Norfolk loses a big time point getter in Ashton, but they get a shutdown defensive prospect in Aulie. WBS Penguins beat writer Jonathan Bombulie compares Aulie's style of play to that of Robert Bortuzzo. So definitely a good add defensively for the Norfolk Admirals, but you have to give up something to get something back in return.




1:30 p.m. - Former WBS Penguins defenseman Tom Gilbert was traded from Edmonton to Minnesota in exchange for defenseman Nick Schultz.  Tom Gilbert will be the fifth former WBS Penguin to play for MIN this season. (Johnson, Brodziak, Taffe, Christensen). Heads up to WBS beat writer for that stat. The familiarity of these players with coach Mike Yeo and GM Chuck Fletcher (both formerly a part of Penguins organization) has to be part of why they are going after these players.

Also, the Binghamton Senators are getting former Peoria standout goalie Ben Bishop at least for now. Bishop was traded from St. Louis to Ottawa for a 2nd round pick yesterday. The AHL Senators are last in the East Division and last in the Eastern Conference, but if Bishop stays as the netminder in Binghamton they could make a push to get into the playoff race. They are currently 14 points out of 8th place - the final playoff spot.

12:30 p.m. - Still just the one trade on deadline day. Could Rick Nash be holding up the trade market or are the prices just too high? Most NHL teams are still in the playoff race so there are a lot of "buyers" and very few "sellers".

Waivers didn't have anything interesting for Penguins fans either. A lot of GM's have stated they wouldn't be surprised if they stand pat, most notably Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke. Just two and a half hours until the 3:00 p.m. EST deadline and still nothing much. Will business pick up soon?

11:30 a.m. - Only one NHL trade involving Montreal and Nashville. But most of the action seems to happen around noon. Stay tuned!

10:30 a.m. - No trades yet. But it's early. Business will pick up this afternoon for sure.