According to RDS reporter François Gagnon during an interview with Montreal Canadiens General Manager, Marc Bergevin, the team is currently fielding offers for the young defenseman.

While Bergevin has denied shopping him actively, he confirmed that he is fielding calls for Nathan Beaulieu. The way he is speaking about the left-handed rearguard makes us wonder if he really wants to keep him around this season. Bergevin said he doesn’t really know what Nathan’s niche is with the Canadiens and that he wants to make the team better.

There is a feeling around the organization that Mikhail Sergachev might be ready to graduate straight from junior and contribute on a regular basis in Montreal. With Andrei Markov likely playing his last campaign with the team, trading Beaulieu, the only young puck-moving defenseman currently with the Habs, would prove costly in the long-term, especially after trading All-Star PK Subban to Nashville in the offseason.

As Eric Engels suggested on his Twitter account, maybe Bergevin is interested in signing UFA D Kris Russell to play on the third-paring with Greg Pateryn, so they can afford to trade Nathan Beaulieu for a young top-nine forward to improve Montreal’s struggling offense.

Taken 17th overall at the 2011 draft, Beaulieu struggled offensively last season, recording only 2 goals and 17 helpers for 19 points in 64 games. He added 55 penalty minutes and posted a -6 plus/minus rating along the way. The 23-year-old defenseman can play the point on the second power play unit thanks to a great hockey vision and good skating abilities.

Beaulieu seemed to thrive more when he was paired with PK Subban and Jeff Petry, and getting more ice time as opposed to playing on the third pairing with the likes of Tom Gilbert and Greg Pateryn. The 6’2”, 205-lb defenseman can hit and fight occasionally, but the results speak for themselves when he is used in a more important puck-moving role on the blue line and when he participates in more high-tempo events against better opposition.

Once again the Edmonton Oilers are rumored to be interested in Beaulieu and would be willing to part with Nail Yakupov in order to make it happen.

Do you think it’s a good idea to trade Nathan Beaulieu at this time? If so, what kind of return would you be looking for?