St. Louis Blues: Recent NHL Trades Create Expectations for Kevin Shattenkirk Deal
The trade rumors surrounding the St. Louis Blues and Kevin Shattenkirk seem to never end. However, two high-profile trades on Sunday may help the rest of the NHL understand the real price for the scoring defenseman.
The NHL trade deadline is only a few days away. So, time is running out for the St. Louis Blues to find a new home for Shattenkirk.
While Blues fans were busy watching the team lose their third game in a row, and on national television of course, a couple of deals were struck by fellow contenders. Just because the Blues weren’t directly involved doesn’t mean the trades don’t impact No. 22’s price.
First, the Tampa Bay Lightning dealt former Blue and St. Louis native Ben Bishop to the Los Angeles Kings. The free agent-to-be was added by the Kings to provide depth for the recently healed Jonathan Quick. In return, the Kings sent fellow goalie Peter Budaj, prospect Erik Cernak, and some late round draft picks across the country.
Honestly, this trade makes absolutely no sense to me for Los Angeles.
Budaj had been doing a fine job for coach Darryl Sutter’s team while Quick recovered from his injured groin. In 53 games, Budaj is 27-20-3 with a 2.12 goals against average. He sports a .917 save percentage. He also leads the NHL with seven shutouts.
Goaltending just wasn’t a need for Tampa Bay. However, the price paid for Bishop given his track record does still seem a little low. It may have been that GM Steve Yzerman’s club was having a tough time finding any realistic suitor for Bishop.
Shortly after, the Arizona Coyotes and Minnesota Wild linked up and made waves.
The Wild acquired rental center Martin Hanzal and veteran forward Ryan White. In return, the rebuilding Yotes received a shit ton of value – and I mean a shit ton – in draft picks from the Central division leaders.
Minnesota sent a 2017 first round pick, a second round pick in 2018, and a conditional pick in 2019. In addition, the Yotes also acquired forward prospect Grayson Downing.
Hanzal will be a third line center for the Blues’ northern rival during their playoff run. In my opinion, Arizona’s owners should be considering renaming their club the Bandits. They made out like some in this deal, at least.
Hanzal was definitely headed to free agency this summer. The Coyotes weren’t bringing him back. And they got a king’s ransom for anywhere between 23 to 51 games of his services.
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But, how do these two major trades affect the Blues besides shaking up the Western Conference a bit?
Well, I think the returns for Bishop and Hanzal will have a direct effect on what the Blues can receive for Shattenkirk’s services. At the very least, it helps give us fans a better idea of what to expect if a trade does come to fruition.
While neither Hanzal or Bishop are defensemen, they are both upper echelon players with good track records and expiring contracts.
If you had asked me before, I’d have assumed the price paid for Hanzal would have been what LA paid for Bishop. Not the other way around.
The Minnesota Wild vastly overpaid for Martin Hanzal and his production.
The Los Angeles Kings, regardless of need, got a really great price on Ben Bishop.
And I think the Blues, if dealing Shattenkirk as a rental, can expect to receive value somewhere in between.
The most recent rumors have placed No. 22 in Tampa Bay and with his hometown New York Rangers. But both of those situations involved Shattenkirk signing an extension and not joining them as a rental.
As the deadline nears closer, it may be tougher for the Blues to find a deal where Shattenkirk signs an extension elsewhere. He could very well end up as just an elite rental option.
If the Blues and GM Doug Armstrong decide they must (and they must) get some kind of value out of Shattenkirk before he leaves for nothing, it should definitely be similar to what these other deals involved.
More than likely, no team will pay for a temporary Shattenkirk what Minnesota paid for Hanzal. The Blues could surely ask for three picks and a prospect but if a team was willing to pay that hefty price, we would have already seen the defenseman on a plane. And the more games Shattenkirk suits up for St. Louis, the more his value drops.
But I also don’t think the Blues would even consider giving up their top scoring defender for a veteran (like Budaj) with a middling prospect and a late pick. They won’t settle like Tampa. I don’t think Doug Armstrong wants Blues fans in his yard holding pitchforks and torches. That’s motivation enough.
So what’s the in-between?
Given these two deals, if Shattenkirk is acquired as a rental, I think we can expect to see the Blues gain a first round pick and that middling prospect. It’s certainly not ideal but it’s substantial. And it’s a lot better than getting nothing when he leaves for good in June.
I’ll still hold out hope for a deal to New York where he’ll sign an extension and the Blues maybe get a player like Chris Kreider. But, all dreams can’t come true. I think we all know that after the last 50 seasons.
And surely there will be more trades in the coming days. I’m just not sure we’ll see deals with such name recognition.
I am sure, however, that Sunday’s big trades will impact how the Blues negotiate their return for Kevin Shattenkirk until Wednesday at 2 p.m. CT.