Jackets acquire Anton Stralman

The Jackets swung a deal today to acquire a puck-moving blueliner, trading a 2010 third round pick to the Flames for Anton Stralman. Stralman is a right-handed shooter who can quarterback the powerplay. He has a howitzer of a slapshot, and has a lot of offensive upside.

Here's his scouting report on The Hockey News:

ASSETS: Has plenty of puck poise and on-ice maturity. Owns a projectable frame and offensive upside. Is good on the power play point due to a hard shot.

FLAWS: Needs to add more bulk in order to better defend against big forwards in North America. Must adjust quickly to the faster pace of the NHL, and avoid big hits.

CAREER POTENTIAL: Top four defenseman.

I like this move a lot. He's young, fills an obvious hole on the PP, and came at a relatively cheap price. Check out this end-to-end rush from when he was a member of the Leafs:

Here's hoping we can see some of that in Columbus this season. Along with this move, the Jackets also released Martin Skoula from his tryout agreement. I now turn my thoughts to how the pairings will shake out. Maybe something like:

Tyutin - Klesla

Commodore - Hejda

Russell - Stralman

Methot

OR

Tyutin - Stralman

Klesla - Commodore

Russell - Hejda

Methot

How do you feel the pairings will end up? Hit the comments!