NHL: Lightning, Blues Reportedly Talking Trade - Jonathan Drouin, Kevin Shattenkirk, David Backes, Matt Carle Involved?

The Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Louis Blues are talking trade. Of that, there really is no doubt. The Lightning are shopping one-time third-overall pick Jonathan Drouin - at his request - and the Blues are desperate to halt their post-holiday skid - even after their 2-1 victory over the Kings on Saturday the Blues are 1-6 since Dec. 31 - and find some surefire scoring talent while they're at it. Of course, just about every team in the league is talking trade at this point, especially on Drouin, so that the two franchises are talking is no surprise.

But there's a lot of smoke around the Lightning and Blues and it sure sounds like there could be more pieces in play here, though the central figure will remain Drouin.

"I think St. Louis is really into that one," Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman said Monday, while appearing on Calgary's Sportsnet 960, per Today's Slap Shot. "I think some other teams have looked. Montreal for sure. Chicago for sure. The Rangers for sure. Nashville for sure. I wouldn't be surprised, now that they've traded Johansen, if Columbus is in on this one too.

"I know a lot of eyes are on St. Louis. Doug Armstrong and Steve Yzerman have a really good relationship going back to their Hockey Canada stuff. I think sometimes if you have a good relationship with someone, it can push a deal through. St. Louis is really hanging on."

Procuring Drouin, despite his limited NHL production to this point, won't be easy though. Asked if Blues captain David Backes, a pending unrestricted free agent said to be asking for Ryan Getzlaf-type money on his next deal, would have to be part of a trade, Friedman demurred.

"I think the thing is - first of all, Backes has a no-move clause. So he's got to agree to it. That's No. 1."

"No. 2 - Tampa is in a tight spot. I've been told - and it's on really good authority from a couple of places - that Steve Yzerman has basically told people he's got enough contract issues, he doesn't want any more. That's why if he's going to trade Drouin, he'd prefer young for young. A contract he can control for awhile, or a player who doesn't have free agency for awhile. That's what he'd prefer to do."

The Lightning have just $2.112 million in cap space on 49 contracts at present, according to General Fanager. Backes carries a $4.5 million cap hit in this, the final year of his deal. The Blues could always eat a portion of Backes' salary and with $3.587 million in cap space on 49 contracts, that certainly seems possible.

But again, as Friedman notes, it's unlikely Yzerman would want to take on Backes in trade for Drouin unless another contract was going out. Enter Tampa Bay defenseman Matt Carle.

Per Friedman, Carle is the player Yzerman would "love" to deal. Carle is 31 and carries a $5.5 million cap hit through the 2017-18 season, which is incredibly pricey for a guy that's barely worth a second-pairing at this point. He's got no goals and no assists through 33 games. In short, he's become an albatross that Yzerman and head coach Jon Cooper would love to free themselves of.

But even beyond Carle it's well-known that Yzerman would like to upgrade his blueline. Shipping out Carle and seeing someone like, say, Kevin Shattenkirk come back, would probably sound pretty good to the Lightning GM. TSN's Frank Seravalli's sources confirmed that Shattenkirk's name is "out there."

Shattenkirk is just 26 and has seemingly stepped his game up in a major way this season. He's on pace for a career-best 52 points this year. He's a top-tier, right-handed defenseman - something Yzerman is said to covet.

He's in the penultimate year of a deal that carries a $4.25 million cap hit. Most troublesome for the Blues is that, should Shattenkirk continue to play well and remain healthy this season and next, his contract demands will likely skyrocket and Armstrong already has so much money tied up in Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester.

From afar, it certainly seems there's a deal here to be made between the Blues and Lightning. Whether or not the two GMs involved are willing to pull the trigger, remains to be seen. But it sure sounds like Yzerman, at least, is inching closer...