Rumor: Number one goalie on the trading block as team struggles to find help on defense.

There is speculation of a major trade coming, potentially in the very near future.

In a recent report for the Hockey News writer Matt Larkin speculated on the possibility of a big trade between two teams who are currently struggling and find themselves in very unexpected positions in the standings, the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning.

From Larkin's report:

The Stars have struggled so far and continue to get lackluster goaltending from Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi. Bishop would rectify their problem in a hurry. It's risky to take on a pending UFA, of course, but what if Dallas sent one back in the form of, say, Johnny Oduya? Tampa get its veteran D-man, Dallas gets its star goalie. Tampa would need to take back one of Niemi or Lehtonen and may have to include a second body for the money to work, but such a deal could still make sense, especially for two teams in different conferences.

[pub]

My initial thought here is the deal appears lopsided in favor of the Dallas Stars, and as a result Dallas would likely have to include a draft pick of significant value to convince the Lightning to pull the trigger, although with Bishop set to be an unrestricted free agent the Lightning are dealing from a position of weakness.

The Lightning may have been looking to keep Bishop for a playoff run, but with the current rash of injuries to their line up as well as their dip in the standings despite being projected as a Cup favorite to start the season, the Lightning may be in desperate need of both a shake up on their roster as well as some healthy bodies to put in their line up.

Johnny Oduya would certainly fit that mold, and he would also help reinforce what has been a shaky Tampa Bay blue line at times this season.