Why would St. Louis Blues want to trade Kevin Shattenkirk?
In deciding what went wrong in a given team’s season, one assigns some players as being part of the problem and others as part of the solution.
A lot went wrong with the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. The idea that defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, with his eight goals and 44 points in 56 games, was part of the problem and not the solution is hard to comprehend.
And yet his name bounced around the rumor mill at the NHL Draft, with the Edmonton Oilers the most prominently mentioned courter of the 26-year-old defenseman.
His agent denied that Shattenkirk was being shopped, but it got us thinking: Why would the Blues ever consider dropping Shatts?
From Jeremy Rutherford of STLToday.com:
It could be because the club has defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester locked up in long-term contracts. Pietrangelo is signed through 2019-20 with a salary cap hit of $6.5 million, while Bouwmeester is inked through ’18-19 at $5.4 million.
Shattenkirk has two more seasons remaining on a four-year, $17 million contract. At 28 and an unrestricted free agent when that deal expires, Shattenkirk’s salary is expected to see a significant hike, likely exceeding Pietrangelo’s current contract. At the very least, the Blues would have three defensemen with cap hits of $5.4 million or more.
There’s also the fact that Shattenkirk can’t prevent a trade without a no-trade clause in his current deal.
The Blues have allegedly told Shattenkirk that he’s safe for now.
But if there was an important piece they could acquire, and the price was Shattenkirk, it makes some financial sense to explore it.
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