Purely Hypothetical: A Trade With The Columbus Blue Jackets

Yesterday, my good friend Matt from The Cannon e-mailed me with questions stemming from this gem of a rumor that was floated at the draft Friday night: Kevin Shattenkirk as trade bait. Someone must've said something to Edmonton writers because immediately they began to hypothesize about what it would take to get an actual real-live defenseman on their team.

I can't blame them, to be honest. Many teams would love a defenseman of Shattenkirk's caliber. I'm not sure what began the rumors or if there's any truth to them to even begin with, but I can see where having some fun with this scenario could happen.

Myself, I do not think it would be fun to lose Kevin Shattenkirk, but Matt disagrees:

He's in the right age range for the Jackets' needs, has been a solid 2nd pairing d-man, and might be able to bump up to first pairing duties with the right partner. Sounds like a great fit - if the two sides can figure out a deal. It also doesn't hurt that both Jackets president John Davidson and GM Jarmo Kekalainen know him from their time in the Blues' organization - but that could also mean that St. Louis would be willing to demand a little more from them as a result.

Like many of the potential trade targets for Columbus, St. Louis is looking at some holes to fill at forward, and since they still need to sign Vladimir Tarasenko to a new deal, they'll probably be looking for a budget friendly transaction. Kerby Rychel seems like a piece that the team would dangle - perhaps Dalton Prout or Cody Goloubef as well?

So, here goes with some crowdsourcing:

• If (not that this would happen) but IF the Blues traded Shatty to CBJ, who do you want to see in return?
• Not involving Shattenkirk, what trade proposal would you work out between the two teams?

Both blogs have a follow-up post in the works, so come on. Give me your ideas here or on Twitter (@hildymac).