As the days to the start of training camp begin to dwindle down, and with the Lightning supposedly still on the lookout for a defenseman, have new owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie opted to try to raid another team’s roster for some help?

A report out of Ottawa this morning suggest that the Lightning have an interest in acquiring restricted free agent 22-year-old defenseman Andrej Meszaros. The Ottawa Sun suggests that the Lightning have been in contact with the Senators suggesting that if they opt not to trade Meszaros to the Tampa Bay, then the Lightning are prepared to submit an offer sheet that could pay Meszaros $5 million per season. Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, should the Senators not match such an offer sheet then Tampa Bay would forfeit a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round draft pick based on the annual salary of the player.

The Hockey News reported on its web site on Thursday that an undisclosed team had alread submitted of offer sheet to the agent for Meszaros, Ritch Winter. Winter declined to comment to the Ottawa Sun while Senators’ general manager Bryan Murray denied the report to The Hockey News.

Murray met with members of the Ottawa media on Thursday, stating that the team had reached an impasse in negotiations with the three-year veteran and former first-round draft pick. Meszaros, who is just coming out of his entry level deal, is reported to be looking for a long-term deal in the $4.5 million per year range while the Senators are believed to have offered deals that would pay Meszaros in the $3.5 million range.

There has no indication from the Lightning this morning whether the report was accurate.