St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk watched the draft and waited for commissioner Gary Bettman to say “We have a trade to announce,” and call his name. Of course, that didn’t happen, but now, Shattenkirk is opening up about his stressful offseason.
[link_box id=”22277″ site_id=”17″ layout=”link-box-third” alignment=”alignright”]Shattenkirk’s name was the subject of trade rumors all offseason, as the Blues reportedly wanted to move the defenseman, a pending unrestricted free agent. ESPN Insider Pierre LeBrun went as far to say Shattenkirk was going to be traded. A deal never came to fruition, but Shattenkirk told Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he waited at the 2016 NHL Draft to hear his name get called in a trade.
Shattenkirk: "You're waiting for (commissioner Gary) Bettman to see if he's going to say, 'We have a trade to announce.'"
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) September 19, 2016
No deal materializing meant the 27-year-old remains in St. Louis for the time being. The Blues might look back at the non-trade as one of the club’s most important moves. Shattenkirk is an impressive offensive defenseman who’s hit the 44 point marker in three straight seasons. He’s capable of playing a top pair role but has largely been sheltered defensively under coach Ken Hitchcock.
With no trade, Hitchcock told Rutherford he sees Shattenkirk as a potential top pair defenseman alongside Alex Pietrangelo.
Hitch said that would allow Shattenkirk or even Parayko to step up and play the right side in the No. 1 pair with Pietrangelo. #stlblues
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) September 19, 2016
The Blues would be wise to re-sign Shattenkirk, should the money be right. St. Lous has some promising young defenders, but Shattenkirk’s absence would leave a gaping hole in its top four. Both Shattenkirk and the Blues should put this offseason behind them and start anew. Hopefully, the relationship is repaired enough to continue on. Crazier things have happened.
