Aulie Dealt to Tampa

			2011/2012 Stats				2012	July 1st Details
To Tampa Bay	Pos	Age	GP	G	A	P	Cap Hit	Years	Cap Hit
Keith Aulie	D	22	17	0	2	2	$733k	0	RFA
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To Toronto	Pos	Age	GP	G	A	P	Cap Hit	Years	Cap Hit
Carter Ashton	F	20	0	0	0	0	$1.04m	2	$1.04m

The Tampa Bay Lightning are working hard to improve their blueline on the deadline, picking up prospect defenseman Keith Aulie from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.  In return, the Maple Leafs get a strong forward prospect in Carter Ashton, who is having a pretty good year in the minors.

In Aulie, the Lightning get what is believed to be a blue-chip prospect defenseman, who has seen some time with the big club in Toronto this year, although his numbers do not reflect his status.  Aulie fell out of the depth chart due to some great play from Jake Gardiner, so he became a piece that generated a solid deal both ways.

Ashton is a fairly big kid, with some offensive upside, which is something the Maple Leafs were certainly looking for.  I would have guessed that the Leafs would have been after someone who is in the league now, if they were going to make one last gasp at the playoffs, but Ashton should be able to help them down the road, when they become a much more stable club.

Both players are in the young player boxes on the selection sheet, but neither player has had much for playing time or impact on their NHL clubs, so they haven't been very popular.  This is definitely more of a deal for later, rather than now, but it could be good for both sides.