St. Louis Blues: Kevin Shattenkirk Can Stay Or Jump Off A Bridge

The St. Louis Blues find themselves between a rock and a hard place right now as we approach the trade deadline. That rock just got bigger as their biggest bait is not wanting to cooperate.

The St. Louis Blues find themselves in quite the pickle right now. They basically have to trade Kevin Shattenkirk, but he has put up every roadblock possible to make that not happen.

I’ll be upfront that this will be a much more personal article. Normally I don’t use I in my articles because that’s how I was taught. This piece is going to throw that in the garbage.

I’m tired of this entire Shattenkirk ordeal. I want it to be over and, quite frankly, I’m ready for him to be gone.

There are still fans out there that want him to stay. God love them for their loyalty. That’s just not me at this point.

Shattenkirk has done everything possible to screw over the team and I’m sick of it. The Blues will basically get nothing close to fair value for him because he has been so picky with his destination.

It was fairly well known that the Blues had a deal in place with the Edmonton Oilers during the summer. The reports differ as to whether it involved Taylor Hall or one of the team’s centers, but everything was ironed out between the teams. Shattenkirk blew that deal up because he did not want to sign a long-term deal with Edmonton.

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At the time, it was understandable because Edmonton was still considered to be in rebuild mode. However, the Oilers are currently in second place in the Pacific Division and have a better record than St. Louis.

Now there are reports that the Blues had a similar deal in place with the Tampa Bay Lightning. According to Jeremy Rutherford and Bob McKenzie, the deal would have paid Shattenkirk $7 million over six seasons. That’s exactly the money he reportedly wants.

So, the bottom line is Shattenkirk wants his cake and to eat it too. He has his heart set on an east coast team and to get his money as well.

Listen, I get it. I know this is a business and this is probably Shattenkirk’s last big contract if not his last contract overall. He’s trying to get paid and play where he will be the most comfortable.

If I was a player, I would understand it even more, so nobody needs to lecture me on the shortness of careers and a limited time frame to capitalize on earning potential. I’m a fan though, so my loyalties are with the team.

Shattenkirk is basically screwing over the team at the moment. Again, I understand he owes nothing to the Blues, but I don’t have to like the fact the Blues are getting the shaft in this situation.

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I kept hoping beyond hope the Blues would be able to pull something off with Shattenkirk that would benefit both parties, but that’s not going to happen now. Whichever team gets him is getting a rental with the vague hope of convincing him to stay. The Blues are getting a draft pick and a prospect if we are lucky.

My understanding for Shattenkirk’s position is even further shrunk by the teams he could have gone to. He wants a location, not necessarily a winner.

Edmonton is an up and coming team and clearly on the cusp of making a jump from talented to a contender very shortly. It was understandable to balk at that idea in the summer, but they now have proof behind their pudding.

Tampa Bay might be on the verge of missing the playoffs this season, but they are only two seasons removed from playing in the finals. They still have Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Drouin, a host of other talented guys and a talented goaltender (no matter which one they eventually decide on).

We also now have the proof that $7 million is not enough, at least if Shattenkirk does not want to be in that location. So, we’ve heard him say that he wants to stay in St. Louis but can we really believe that?

I had a conversation on Twitter that said the Blues have plenty of cap space to keep him if they try.

I like the thinking, but I just can’t believe he would turn down that extra $1 million per season. I’m also not sure Colton Parayko would sign for that low a figure, but that’s a topic for another day.

The bottom line at this point, for me anyway, is Shattenkirk can either stay or go to h-e-double-hockey-sticks. If he wants to be a part of this team, then fine. I’m not wanting to kick him out of town for nothing.

However, he appears to be set on returning to New York (his hometown basically) or Boston (where he played in college).

Related Story: Blues Likely To Get Nothing For Shattenkirk

As a human, I get his position. As a fan, it ticks me off. The Blues will now get almost nothing out of this ordeal since he has nixed anything that would have helped the Blues out.

The national guys want to paint Shattenkirk as a premier defenseman.  He’s a great offensive player, but he’s as bad or worse than Jay Bouwmeester in terms of turnovers and his positioning is lazy to bad from what I watch.

I understand it’s a business. These are the times that the business side of things really interfere with the enjoyment of loving a team though.