Rumor: A major trade was on the table at the trade deadline.

The St. Louis Blues are currently in the Western Conference Final, but a trade that was reportedly on the table at the deadline may have changed that fate.

According to a report from Jimmy Murphy the Blues had a trade in place with the Boston Bruins that would have seen Loui Eriksson and Kevin Shattenkirk, both players who were rumored to be on the trading block at the deadline, moved in the deal. At the end of the day money was the deal breaker with Boston refusing to take on an additional burden to their cap.

From Muprhy's report:

According to both a Blues source and a well placed NHL source, the Bruins and Blues had a deal in place prior to the NHL trade deadline that would’ve sent Blues and former Boston University defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, a conditional 2016 second or third round pick (depending on how far the Blues advanced in the playoffs or if Eriksson resigned with St. Louis) and another Blues roster player to Boston in exchange for impending unrestricted free agent forward Loui Eriksson and the Sharks’ 2016 first round draft pick that the Bruins acquired in exchange for Martin Jones at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Both these sources claim that the proposed trade never materialized because of the extra salary the Blues wanted the Bruins to take on with another roster player.

Of course we now know the move was probably the right one for St. Louis, who currently lead the San Jose Sharks 1-0 in the Western Conference Final, but could the swap of both players have impacted Boston's chances of a successful playoff bid? Would the trade  have improved St. Louis' odds of winning it all?

[pub]