St. Louis Blues Rumors: Shattenkirk To Penguins

The Hockey Press is reporting that there is significant interest by the Pittsburgh Penguins in St. Louis Blues top defender, Kevin Shattenkirk.

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The report (which has been edited for grammatical consistency):

"About a month ago there were many reports that the St. Louis Blues were talking with multiple teams on Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. Well recently I have heard from multiple of my sources that those trade talks have picked up again, we’ve also heard the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins have just recently joined the party. The Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets were all interested in Kevin Shattenkirk from the past, and still are. As of right now the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins and the Edmonton Oilers have expressed the most serious interest.The Pittsburgh Penguins are the most likely scenario for Kevin Shattenkirk, EDM/BOS don’t posses the pieces required to meet ALL of the Blues desires, but PIT does.I can confirm the Pittsburgh Penguins have expressed serious interest in Kevin Shattenkirk, a trade which would send him to the Pittsburgh Penguins before the NHL season is unlikely, but if STL were to have a shaky start to the season, and look to trade Kevin Shattenkirk (Which is very likely), from what i am hearing the Pittsburgh Penguins would be the leading contenders on Shattenkirk."

This trade rumor, like ever, has some merit to it. Should the Blues have a shaky start to the season it’s definitely a possibility general manager Doug Armstrong would feel comfortable sending off a familiar face or two. But why wait until a bad start to the season? The Blues had a terrible end to their postseason run, and the only real changes made in St. Louis have been ones that were rumored to be coming for a long time.

Even David Backes expected more change on the team than there has been. He told Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in June that there might not be sweeping changes, but roster moves were certainly coming.

“I do expect that the same 23-25 faces won’t be back. In a typical year, that means it’s four or five guys (who are traded or take new contracts elsewhere). If it’s that number or maybe a couple more, that wouldn’t be surprising to me. Who that would be is speculative at best in my book.”

With the offseason still moving along, Armstrong has plenty of time to move pieces before puck drops on their first game.

Additionally, yes, the Penguins do still need to work on their defense. They’ve got as deep a bunch of forwards as anyone could hope for, and a defensive pool so shallow you’d gladly throw your toddler in there with no real supervision.

The Penguins and Blues have been trading partners before, and both were very happy with their acquired pieces this past season.

But where it falls apart is here: common sense. Trading Shattenkirk would be a dumb move on anyone’s part, and Armstrong is nobody’s fool. Shattenkirk is one of the steadiest on the team, and an elite player whose cap hit isn’t terribly high at $4.25 million a season. He’s great on possession, transitions the puck well, and has been a linchpin in St. Louis’s back end.

He likes and backs up Hitchcock, was one of their highest points-producer in the playoffs and was in the middle of a Norris-caliber season before it was interrupted by a sports hernia, sidelining Shattenkirk for weeks.

Would the Penguins love to get their hands on Shattenkirk? Absolutely. Pretty much any team would. But if Armstrong sends Shattenkirk away for anything less than two NHL-ready players and a couple of picks, the Blues can say goodbye to a Cup run this season, and Armstrong can say goodbye to his job.

I say no way. What do you think, Blues fans?

Next: Blues Success Hinges On Cup

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