St. Louis Blues: Kevin Shattenkirk Will Be Missed

The day has come and passed for the St. Louis Blues and Kevin Shattenkirk. There were a lot of emotions and feelings along the way, but even through the pain it is easy to look back with fondness.

The St. Louis Blues made the decision they felt was right for their future. The same can be said of Kevin Shattenkirk. So, understanding that, why were we all so hurt one way or the other?

The answer is because we care. Whether it is about the player or the team, we care and we care deeply. Some might even say we care too much for something as trivial as a sports franchise or its players.

That is for them to decide. The bottom line is we want our team to succeed and we want our heroes to succeed and sometimes hold them to different standards.

I’m now at the age where calling sports figures heroes seems a bit odd. I’m now older than almost anyone in any league, with exceptions of course. However, that will only keep changing with time. Still, there is something to admire and look up to with these athletes.

You forget, at times, they are humans like you and me. They have flaws and personality quirks and opinions. They look out for number one sometimes.

That’s what Kevin Shattenkirk did. Not long ago, days in fact, I wrote a piece about how he could either stay in St. Louis or get lost. While I stand by my work, an editorial piece stating an opinion by the way, I will say my stance has softened now that the entire ordeal is over.

I’m still not happy that the Blues did not end up with Taylor Hall or one of the good, young forwards from the Tampa Bay Lightning. There are whispers that a deal may have fallen through with San Jose as long as two seasons ago too. Whether Shattenkirk had anything to do with that falling apart will remain a mystery.

Though I’m not happy with the results, I can at least respect the man’s position. He earned the right to be at this point and he wants to set his family up for years to come and play in a place he will be happy in.

As people from or at least near St. Louis, we usually think our city will make most happy. In Shattenkirk’s case, I believe it would have. Though I have doubted many making similar statements, I do believe the defenseman would have been content to stay in St. Louis.

The Blues simply could not afford the kind of money he was asking for. Even if they maneuvered pieces around, can you really justify spending nearly $19 million on defensemen? People can complain about the Jay Bouwmeester contract all they want, but it was a deal at the time regardless of how it has affected things now.

Additionally, no offense to Shattenkirk but he’s not as good a player as Alex Pietrangelo. He’s better offensively, but does that mean he should get paid more? All the rumors have said he wants to be paid more ($7 million as opposed to Petro’s $6.5 million)

Still, that doesn’t mean he does not have the right to see what he can get. He earned his contract from the Blues, played with pride and saw things out until the end. Now he has the chance to earn a contract from a different team.

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Shattenkirk the man made losing Shattenkirk the player much easier (or harder, depending on a point of view). He represented the team and the city the way you wish all athletes would.

Shattenkirk was involved in lots of charities and ways to give back to the community. He was a stand up guy even in the face of adversity.

While people like myself were yelling about how he screwed the team, he did not blink. He took it in stride, said there were details the public would never know and still praised the city and the fans.

Even in a time of confusion or pain or however we are feeling individually right now, it’s hard not to admire that. That’s how we should wish we could be in similar situations.

As a players, it’s more a mixed bag for ShattDeuces. He is one of the premier offensive defensemen in the league and a good puck mover. He’s also one of the quarterbacks on the team’s powerplay. None of that is easily replaced.

In over 400 games with the St. Louis Blues, he amassed over 250 points. Of his 59 career goals with the Note, 32 were scored on the powerplay.

He played with pride every night. He wanted to win.

His only detriment was his inability to defend at times, a necessary trait for defensemen. There are far worse defenders in the league (some fans will say the Blues still have one or two), but his positioning was often questionable, he would fail to track players and his lack of physicality made him easier to get by at times.

So, it’s not out of the question for Robert Bortuzzo to step in and be an upgrade in that sense.   As an overall player, especially offensively, the team will struggle to fill the void.  If the choice was between Coltron Parayko and Shattenkirk, then I’d probably take Parayko’s potential at this point.  That is likely the choice the Blues had and made.

These are the days that suck as fans. We try to justify the moves in our own heads. We realize its a business and there was no way Shattenkirk was staying.

Even though it is nice to have the entire saga over with, it’s still an odd feeling. Others feel differently, but I’m not mad at anyone anymore.

The Blues did what they had to do and we can (and will) argue about the value of the return. Shattenkirk did the team no favors with their past deals, but he was under no obligation to. He was merely up front with those teams saying they could complete the deal but he would give no guarantee he’d stay.

Related Story: Did The Blues Get Enough In Return For Shattenkirk?

The bottom line is, no matter how angry or hurt I was at the news of those deals, I will miss him. You can’t play seven years in a city and not have at least some impact.  It is rare to have a class guy on and off the ice. It is even more rare to have someone these days that legitimately cared about the city.

While I am perfectly fine with the players we have lost over the last few transactions, perhaps that is what is truly lost. St. Louis lost good citizens more than the Blues lost good players.