St. Louis Blues: Do Not Trade Kevin Shattenkirk
While the St. Louis Blues chose to stand pat at the Trade Deadline, there is still the possibility that the team could trade their top offensive defenseman this summer.
This is something that should not happen. The St. Louis Blues stole a very good player in Kevin Shattenkirk when they traded Erik Johnson and Jay McClement for Shattenkirk and Chris Stewart in 2011. Unfortunately, that player will be eligible for Free Agency come the summer of 2017. Naturally this causes some to want to trade him away, so that the Blues can get something for him.
This is a bad idea for many reasons, and we are going to cover this in detail today.
No real replacement available
While the St. Louis Blues are seemingly stocked with right-handed defensemen in the system, there is no player on the current roster or in the system who could replace Shattenkirk on the ice next season. This would immediately result in the St. Louis Blues defense core taking a step back, especially offensively.
You may think that simply slotting Colton Parayko up to the second pairing replaces Shattenkirk’s production, but it instead leaves a gap on the third pairing, as they would be using either another rookie or someone like Robert Bortuzzo.
While Parayko is very good in his own right, he has played the majority of the season on the third pairing, playing less minutes and less time against other team’s top forwards. You also have to guard against a potential drop off in performance from the rookie.Â
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Looking at other young promising defensemen in the league like Tyler Myers and Jacob Trouba shows that there can be a sudden drop off in performance, when a player transitions out of their rookie season.
Drop off in Power Play performance
The Blues currently hold one of the leauge’s best power plays and taking the power play leader (Shattenkirk) out of the equation would drastically change things. Yes, there is the potential that Parayko could step in and perform at that role, but you are taking a big risk there.
Last season while Shattenkirk was out the unit looked lost and ineffective, but it picked up when he returned, proving that he is the key to this team’s success there.
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Dream move won’t be happening
Most Blues’ fans request when they are tasked with trading Shattenkirk, is for a high scoring forward. This is understandable, as the Blues have struggled to score goals last season, and every year at the Trade Deadline the Blues are said to be looking for a “proven goal scorer”. As great as Shattenkirk is, no team is going to be willing to give up their “proven goal scorer” in the offseason.
These so called “proven goal scorers” don’t grow on trees and most teams only have 1-2 guys that fit the mold that Blues fans have in mind. This means that if a move is going to be made. The Blues are going to get somebody’s prospect (who may or may not pan out) or a combination of draft picks and other players who don’t fit the “proven goal scorer” model.
On top of that, team’s are going to be reluctant about trading for a player who is a free agent at the end of the season, as they may not be able to successfully resign him at the end of the season, meaning they traded away their assets for nothing. This in turn, would drive the price for Shattenkirk down, making it even more impossible to get the “proven goal scorer”.
Depleting an area of strength
The Blues currently only have two defensemen who are a big offensive threat, those two are Shattenkirk and Parayko. While Alex Pietrangelo could be that player in a different system, that’s neither here nor there. So, the Blues would be trading away something that is very valuable to the team’s lifeblood on offense to gain something that may not be the answer they seek.
They would then deplete the offensive performance from the blue line, something that they would need to be a contender for the Cup, as you know that Chicago and LA both have defensemen who are offensive threats.
The model is working
What the Blues have going currently is working. They have one of the best teams in the league and a team that has the potential to be a Cup winning team. Blowing it up by trading away Kevin Shattenkirk, who is one of the catalysts for the team’s success, makes no sense. Contending teams don’t give away their best players just because they are approaching free agency.
The team simply needs to buck up and get Shattenkirk signed for 2018 and beyond. The Blackhawks made it a point to sign Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, the Blues need to make the same commitment to their core defenseman.
Next: Who could the Blues move to keep Kevin Shattenkirk?
Obviously, a lot could change on both sides if a Cup is indeed brought to St. Louis, but in order to stake a continued claim on the Central Division and the Western Conference the Blues need Kevin Shattenkirk.