‘Everything you look for’
Why Shattenkirk is drawing buzz ahead of trade deadline
It was six years ago this month that the St. Louis Blues acquired Kevin Shattenkirk from the Colorado Avalanche.
Now, Shattenkirk’s future in St. Louis is in question. The 28-year-old from New Rochelle, N.Y., is likely to draw the most buzz ahead of the March 1 trade deadline, a right-shooting defenceman on an expiring contract who offers almost unrivalled production from the back end.
“His offensive skills are topnotch,” teammate and frequent defensive partner Carl Gunnarsson said of Shattenkirk, who’s on pace for a career-best 16 goals and 57 points.
“He always seems like he’s finding the open guy and he’s always getting to the open spots,” added Colton Parayko, another member of the Blues defence. “He’s got a good shot, he’s a good passer, he’s got vision – pretty much everything you look for in an offensive defenceman.”
In fact, heading into Monday’s play, Shattenkirk was tied for 10th among all NHL defencemen with 238 points since the start of the 2011-12 season, 10th with 181 assists and 11th with 57 goals.
It’s on the power play where he’s most potent, though, making him especially attractive to potential suitors ahead of the deadline. Shattenkirk boasts
122 power-play points over the last five-plus seasons, second only to Ottawa Senators captain Erik Karlsson among NHL defenders. His 31 power-play goals in that same stretch trail only Shea Weber and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Prior to Monday, he was tied for first at the position with 18 power-play points this season and second with seven powerplay goals.
“It’s something I wish I could do, but there’s only a few guys in the league that have that kind of ability,” Gunnarsson said of Shattenkirk’s power-play prowess.
However appealing he may be as a trade chip before the deadline – just over two weeks away – the Blues might be better served keeping Shattenkirk themselves.
For all their struggles this season (though not of late), St. Louis is still a viable threat to compete for the Stanley Cup after reaching the Western Conference final last year.
Shattenkirk garners only the fourth-most minutes on their defence (about 20 minutes per game), but the club has no comparable threat for the offence he provides.
Stay tuned.