Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman and the club’s front office must first decide whether they’re buyers or sellers heading into the February 27 trade deadline before any serious discussions about moving forward Ryan Malone takes place.

Yzerman tells Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times that he does not have a deadline for deciding if they’ll load up for a push to capture a playoff spot or unload players for futures.

The trade market dictates what, if anything, we’re going to do. At this point there’s nothing that makes any sense that is the right thing to do whether it’s short or long term.

What’s making it difficult to decide is his club’s 6-0-1 run in its past seven games, Yzerman told ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun earlier this week.

It’s still a bit early for that in light of the fact that our team is playing reasonably well. The timing isn’t right to look at it that way. We have to keep seeing if we can keep climbing into this. We’ll see how we do in the next few games. We’ll see how it all plays out. There’s no rush to do anything. There haven’t been any difficult decisions to make at this point because any potential [trade] opportunities really haven’t made sense for us, short-term and long-term.

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Pavel Kubina. Photo courtesy Flickr user bridgetds.

But that doesn’t mean he’s not listening to offers for his players or investigating potential deals. Aside from Malone, Kevin Allen of USA Today, and Scott Burnside of ESPN believe that the likes of defenseman Pavel Kubina and forwards Adam Hall and Dominic Moore would garner interest from teams looking to add depth.

Our team is winning. My approach is that if there’s any deal that potentially can be done which makes our team better now or a better team in the future that’s worth doing, I’m prepared to do it. But at this point, nothing has made sense from my point of view.

That could change as the trade deadline nears and sellers and buyers become more clear and ready to deal. Whatever the case may be, one thing is for sure: Yzerman will be ready to act accordingly.

All we can do is be prepared to act one way or another.

According to the Toronto Star’s Bob Mitchell, Yzerman has attended several Toronto Maple Leafs games recently. That only adds more fuel to the rumors the Maple Leafs are interested in acquiring the truculent forward.

As numerous reports indicate, Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke wants to add a top-six forward before the deadline and Malone is one of his targets.

But the Maple Leafs aren’t, and won’t be, alone in pursuing Malone, says Mitchell. The Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, and the Vancouver Canucks are, or would be, interested in making a play for the American winger if he were to become available.

Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times also reported earlier in the week that the Pittsburgh Penguins had director of pro scouting Derek Clancy and pro scout Andre Savard at a recent game between the Lightning and the Winnipeg Jets. Seven other teams had scouts at the game.

The SportsNet‘s HockeyCentral Trade Tracker panel also has the New York Rangers as a potential suitor.

Allen and David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail claim the Lightning would love to stabilize their situation between the pipes by acquiring a goaltender. Allen lists Vancouver Canucks super-backup Cory Schneider as a possibility. Cristodero reports that Kings’ goalie Jonathan Bernier has been linked in trade rumors as a return for Malone.

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Cory Schneider.

The former Stanley Cup winner much regarded playoff performer could be an attractive option for low-budget teams, not just the big spenders. As Globe and Mail’s Erik Duhatschek noted recently, Malone has a cap hit of $4.5 million for the next three seasons, but because his contract was front-loaded, his actual salary is $3.0 million, and $2.5 million for the final two years.

However, should the Lightning decide that the best course of action is to part with him, Malone would have final say in where he ends up as he has a no-movement clause in his contract (which transforms into a limited no-trade clause at the end of next season).

For now, Malone tells Cristodero that he is just trying to get back into the lineup after missing a number of games with an upper-body injury.

It’s something you can’t control. You can’t worry about it. It’s just people talking. It’s just the way the business is, so I don’t think twice about it.

He may finally return to the ice this Saturday.