St. Louis Blues: Here We Go Again With Kevin Shattenkirk

To take a page from Jaws, just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, we’re getting another go around with Kevin Shattenkirk rumors.

Normally this stuff is pretty fun. Discussing rumors and pondering the possibilities. It got to a really exciting boil when names like Taylor Hall or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins started floating around. We all got caught up in it.

That led to disappointment when nothing happened. So, pardon me if I have more of a guard up this time around. Also, some of the rumors are just flat-out dumb.

The main one that boggles the mind as to how people even think it is possible is there is a “rumor” going around that the St. Louis Blues are in discussions with the New York Rangers to bring in Rick Nash. I really don’t get why or how these things get started in the first place other than someone with borderline knowledge of the sport says “hey! I know that name. The Blues should get them,” and someone else runs with it.

It makes absolutely no sense on anybody’s part. It makes no sense for the Blues because they can’t do a straight swap for Shattenkirk. Nash has a cap hit of $7.8 million and Shattenkirk’s is $4.25. Now people will say, but the Blues already have over $3 million in space.

No, they don’t. Vladimir Sobotka is all but assured to be coming back with a cap hit of around $2.75 million. That takes away almost all your cap space. So, the Blues would have to include someone else with a sizable salary in the deal.

Another option would be for the Rangers to pick up a lot of the salary from Nash’s contract. Why would that make sense for them? It doesn’t.

Sure, there are ways of getting this deal done if both parties actually wanted to do it, but come on. Is Shattenkirk really worth the effort for the Rangers? Is Nash going to be better off in St. Louis than he has been in New York or is he going to be more valuable than what you’ll get from Shattenkirk for one more season?

The answer for all of those, to me anyway, is no. Nash has seen diminishing returns for awhile. Two of his last three seasons have been the two worst of his career. You do the deal and you’re hoping for 2014-15 Nash, who had 42 goals. You run the risk of paying almost $8 million for 2015-16 Nash who had 15 goals.

It doesn’t make sense. Also, Nash is 32. The Blues just let a couple guys go who were around the same age and could have been had for less money. No, those players don’t present the potential upside of Nash, but they were already proven to fit into this team when Nash has been a bit iffy in the locker room in New York.

The other trade that has been bandied about over the last few hours also involves the New York Rangers. The Blueshirts just signed Chris Kreider to a four-year deal worth an average value of $4.625 million.

While I originally wrote this deal off because of the difference in salary, it is doable. Barely. The difference between the Kreider contract and the Shattenkirk contract is currently $375,000. Assuming Sobotka comes back, the Blues would have $567,500 of space to work with.

However, that’s cutting it pretty close. With only $192,500 of cap space to work with in that scenario, it becomes a bit more difficult to maneuver players around when they pick up minor injuries that don’t require them to go on IR.

At least the deal would make sense. New York would be getting a good, young defenseman who can move the puck. The Blues would be getting a cost-controlled, young forward who has been consistent over the last three years.

Kreider is a plus-player, he scored 21 goals for two straight years (with 17 coming the year before that) and he fits the mold of what the Blues want to be going forward. He’s also worth what the contract is paying him. Nash has lost a step and is not likely to be a $7.8 million player going forward.

The problem with both is position. The Blues have five players currently listed as left wingers. Also, Robby Fabbri continues to be listed as a center, but it has yet to be shown that the Blues have any intention of playing him there. So that’s a potential sixth name in that position. Do you really need to add another?

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Kreider is listed as a center on hockey-reference.com, but a winger on other sites. Perhaps he could take a more central role. However, is he really that much of an upgrade?

I suppose if you are willing to maneuver players around, it doesn’t matter, but if 20 goals and 40 points is all Kreider is going to be, was it worth it? If the rumors of Hall or Nugent-Hopkins were even close to true, is Kreider enough of a return compared to what could have been brought back?

Nash isn’t going to happen. If it does happen, fans should be worried because it means the management team had something bigger planned that didn’t pan out and they are reaching.

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It doesn’t push the headlines or get people excited, but I actually believe that the Blues are going to go into the season with Shattenkirk. Does that make total sense? Not really. They’re not going to make a deal just to make a deal either and shouldn’t. There’s been too much of this you can’t let people walk for nothing mentality when it doesn’t always hurt as much as it seems.

So, I still expect to see #22 on the roster come opening day. I expected the Blues to use Allen and Elliott though too, so who knows. This roller coaster ride is obviously not planning on stopping any time soon.