The Lightning are still remaining mum on the whole Andrej Meszaros situation to this point, but sometimes silence speaks louder than words.

I have been informed that Tampa Bay is indeed interested in trying to acquire Meszaros from the Senators, although whether that happens via the trade route or signing the restricted free agent to an offer sheet is still in question. Sources close to the situation indicate that things are still being worked out at this point and nothing is imminent at this point. Meszaros’ agent has indicated to other media outlets that he expects something to be worked out today because of the three-day weekend approaching, but that doesn’t mean it won’t drag on through the Labor Day holiday.

Now, here’s the sticking point. The parameters set forth in the collective bargaining agreement state that in order to be able to sign a player to a restricted free agent offer sheet, they must have their own draft picks that would serve as compensation for signing another team’s player. If the $5 million per year salary reports are accurate, then Tampa Bay would have to give up a first, second and third round draft pick to the Senators if they decided not to match any offer the Lightning might submit to Meszaros. The Lightning do not own their own third round pick (sent to Pittsburgh for negotiating rights/signing of Ryan Malone), however, and that could be holding the situation up right now. Without that third round pick, the threat of signing Meszaros to an offer sheet isn’t a tactic the team can use. One source close to the situation indicated that the team is talking to the Penguins in trying to re-acquire that third round pick, with some Internet reports suggesting Tampa Bay is offering its second round pick in 2010 to get that third rounder back, but nothing has been worked out to this point.

Now, there is no doubt that if the Lightning were to acquire, they would much rather work out a trade with the Senators, which would allow Tampa Bay to shed some of the excess of players it has on their roster right now. That likely includes the likes of Michel Ouellet, Jussi Jokinen or Jason Ward on the top of Tampa’s list of players to relinquish. And if Ottawa were to talk deal with Tampa Bay, then they would likely seek a defenseman in return, which means some prospects could be in play, such as Matt Smaby or Andy Rogers, or possibly even somebody like a Filip Kuba or Shane O’Brien could be in play as well.

This is certainly something to follow, and with the lack of news around the NHL the past few weeks, it seems that everybody in the World Wide Web is keeping track of the situation . . . The Hockey News being the most prominent right now.