Tough to get information on exactly what is going on with defenseman Marek Malik, but this seems to be the most plausible scenario.

He is supposed to get to Tampa Thursday night, and as soon as he passes a physical, will begin working out with the team. There seems to an outside chance he could play Tuesday against the Thrashers but a more likely target is probably Oct. 25 against the Sharks.

Assuming no other roster moves, signing Malik will give the Lightning eight defensemen, though it was unclear if the team would cut that to seven or keep the eight and make roster trims from the forwards to stay at the 23-player limit.

Things are already getting crowded. Adding defenseman Paul Ranger to the roster puts the team at 23 with center Ryan Craig on injured reserve.

Anyway, none of that is in stone, but, like I said, that seems to be the prevailing opinion as to how this whole thing will happen.