Interest in Smolinski Is Still There

General Manager Sam McMaster has spoken several times with his Pittsburgh counterpart, Craig Patrick, to convey his interest in holdout center Bryan Smolinski. However, McMaster said Tuesday their discussions had not progressed to the point of making a specific offer for Smolinski, who was asking the Penguins for a salary of about $1 million a year.

“We’re no further ahead than when we started,” McMaster said. “I gather [Patrick] has gotten a lot of interest in the player and he has not shown a lot of interest in [dealing with] our team. He said he’d get back to us, but I haven’t spoken to him for four or five days.”

Smolinski, 24, scored 31 goals for Boston in 1993-94 and had 24 goals and a career-high 64 points with Pittsburgh last season.

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Forward Ian Laperriere twisted his already sore right shoulder in the first period Tuesday on the play that led to Toronto’s first goal. He did not play in the second and third periods. “I’m not sure if [Nick Kypreos] lifted my stick, but my shoulder slipped,” said Laperriere, who had injured it against Edmonton last Thursday. His status is day-to-day.