You trade Bouma for one of 3 reasons:
1. You have a good value offer that will improve the team
2. You can use him in a contract swap to address a hole on the team - may not be equal value, but is situationally good value
3. You trade him in a low value deal as you want to dump the contract to reshape the bottom 6 - you can take a hit in a deal like this and not be a loser as this is Bouma, not Taylor Hall
Scenario 1 is what we want should we trade him - but his value has been eroded by injuries and a "back to earth" season after his offensive explosion
Scenario 2 is a potential move should the Flames strike out in free agency - such as swapping Hartnell for Bouma to save Columbus money and aim to get a veteran to play with one of the top lines, or if the backup goalie search comes up dry, maybe to Toronto so they get the last year of Bernier off their books (money almost matches, just bigger hit this year on Bernier). You are taking on a contract you may not want, but you move on from Bouma and add a piece that has utility
Scenario 3 is what people want to avoid, but are making a bigger deal of than need be. If the Flames essentially dump Bouma for a low return, but that allows them to reshape the bottom 6, either with callups or risk/reward signings (e.g. Smith-Pelley) then the trade may be worth it in the long run (2017 free agency for example)
I like Bouma, he could have a good season, but I am not going to say that any one of those scenarios involving a trade would be a bad thing. He is not the kind of player that makes or breaks the team, and loyalty for the sake of it, when otherwise you could improve the team now/in the future is foolish
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