Kevin Shattenkirk Suspended Two Games
2:15 pm: Shattenkirk has been suspended for two games, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced (video link). He will miss the games against the Ducks and Wild and will be eligible to return to the lineup on Thursday. Shattenkirk will forfeit a little over $47K in salary as a result of the suspension.
11:59 am: Following last night’s Capitals-Kings contest, NHL Player Safety announced that Washington defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk would have a disciplinary hearing over the phone with league officials following his charge against Los Angeles defender Kevin Gravel. With the Capitals in California on a west coast trip and scheduled to play the Anaheim Ducks tonight, the league acted quickly to schedule the hearing and is expected to make a swift decision prior to puck drop. This is Shattenkirk’s first career disciplinary review and the first for any Capitals player this season.
In the game, a 4-2 Kings win, Shattenkirk was called for a charge late in the third period after a check on Gravel and was given a minor two-minute penalty. Shattenkirk swung around the L.A. net as Gravel played the puck and, after the pass had been made, followed through on his hit, seemingly launching himself shoulder-first at the head area of Gravel. Gravel hit the boards and then fell to the ice, before exiting the ice and heading to the locker room for the short remainder of the game. There has been no word on whether or not Gravel suffered a head injury or other impairment as a result of the impact.
Shattenkirk, the prize of the 2017 NHL Trade Deadline, has played well since he was acquired on February 27th, recording four assists and over 20 minutes of ice time a night in six games. However, the Capitals have not been so lucky in that time. The NHL points-leaders are just .500 with Shattenkirk in the fold, having won their first three games after he was acquired, but then losing their last three. This recent stretch is the first time all season that the team has lost three games in a row in regulation time, and face a significant threat of dropping their fourth straight tonight in Anaheim, especially if Shattenkirk is out of the lineup. The Capitals may wrap up this tough west coast road trip tonight, but that doesn’t necessarily mean things will get right back on track, as they host the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators upon their return to D.C.. The team would again greatly benefit from having Shattenkirk, a player with knowledge of Central Division competition, in the lineup for those contests. A suspension seems likely based on the visuals of the hit, but anything longer than a game or two may be a stretch. However, we won’t know for sure until the hearing later on today. Stay tuned.
Atlantic Division Notes: Sabres, Erne, Gourde, Panthers
Entering the 2016-17 season, the Buffalo Sabres were considered by some as a dark horse playoff contender after the team added top-six winger Kyle Okposo in free agency and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov via trade last summer. However, a preseason ankle injury shelved sophomore center Jack Eichel for the first 21 games of the season and the team stumbled to a 7 – 9 – 5 mark in his absence. The team’s defense has also contributed to Buffalo’s struggles and unfortunately for the Sabres, there may not be much help on the way next summer, according to John Vogl of The Buffalo News.
Vogl examines the list of potential UFA defenders, a list which happens to include current Sabres Kulikov and Cody Franson, and aside from Kevin Shattenkirk and perhaps Karl Alzner, the scribe doesn’t see free agency as presenting a solution to Buffalo’s blue line woes. That means in all likelihood the Sabres will have to go the trade route in order to address their defensive shortcomings. Naturally, any deal to add a defenseman will likely cost the team a key forward and would essentially represent an example of “robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- We touched earlier on the injury issues impacting the Tampa Bay Lightning, but for the glass half full crowd, the absences of Tyler Johnson, Vladislav Namestnikov and Cedric Paquette offer opportunities for young players to step into more prominent roles and show the team’s coaching staff and management team what they are capable of at the NHL level. As Bryan Burns, NHL.com’s Tampa Bay Lightning contributor writes, the early beneficiaries of extra ice time and responsibility in Tampa are rookies Adam Erne and Yanni Gourde. As Burns notes, Gourde filled in as the team’s second line pivot Thursday night, recording a career-high 16:35 of ice time and registering the second point of his NHL career. Erne saw better than 14 minutes and even got some time on the power play. With Tampa Bay wrapping up a disappointing campaign, it’s quite possible the the team continues to give opportunities to some of its young talent as the front office begins to hatch its offseason strategy.
- Last night’s 7 – 4 loss to Minnesota leaves Florida six points out of the second and final Eastern Conference wild card slot with just 16 games remaining in their season and with four teams to leapfrog in the standings. As Adam Gretz of Pro Hockey Talk writes, time is running out on the Panthers and barring a strong finish it appears Florida won’t be making their second straight postseason appearance. Missing the playoffs would represent a disappointing outcome for a team that was particularly aggressive in the offseason trying to build upon last year’s success. Florida acquired the rights to Keith Yandle and then inked the skilled puck-moving defender to a massive seven-year, $44.45MM contract extension. They signed Jason Demers as a free agent and traded for Mark Pysyk to further bolster their blue line. The Panthers also made smart under-the-radar signing, adding Jonathan Marchessault via free agency. The diminutive winger has registered a 20-goal, 39-point campaign for Florida. Yet all of those additions will be in vain unless the Panthers can close out on a hot streak and somehow sneak into the playoffs and that possibility is fading more and more with each passing day.
Poll: Which Team Had The Best Trade Deadline?
The trade deadline came and went with something of a whimper yesterday, with most of the heavy lifting done in the days prior. Martin Hanzal, Kevin Shattenkirk, Brian Boyle and Patrick Eaves were all among players moved days ahead of the deadline, and Pierre LeBrun of TSN believes that may have actually been a mistake. In his latest column, he discusses the low prices teams paid on deadline day as very few big names entered the market. Obviously, it may have been a completely different story had those names made it to the last few minutes, but we’ll never know.
Our own Zach Leach broke down the deadlines for each of the different divisions (Atlantic, Metropolitan, Pacific and Central), but who was the biggest winner of them all?
Vancouver finally decided to move out some aging veterans and received two fairly well established prospects, something the team has seemed to lack for years. Tampa Bay moved out Valtteri Filppula‘s contract to save them a huge headache at the expansion draft and when re-signing their restricted free agents. Washington added the best player available to an already dominant squad, and perhaps more importantly blocked their rivals from doing the same.
So which team did have the best trade deadline overall? For this question we’ll include the moves made prior to the day itself. Make sure to leave us a comment down below explaining your choice.
(Mobile users click here to vote!)
Trade Deadline Summary: Winners & Losers Of The Central Division
The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, and while it wasn’t the most exciting deadline day in recent memory, there were quite a few notable moves. Here are the winners and losers of the “wild” Central Division:
Winners
Chicago Blackhawks:
- Acquired Tomas Jurco from Detroit Red Wings for 2017 third-round pick
- Acquired Johnny Oduya from Dallas Stars for conditional 2018 fourth-round pick and Mark McNeill
Of course the Blackhawks are winners on deadline day. Did you expect any less? Although they didn’t make any major moves, Chicago brought in two players via trade that can help them immediately. Oduya, a former Blackhawk, is still familiar with the system and has played with many of the current players. Oduya should be able to step in right away, play major minutes, and form a shutdown pair with Niklas Hjalmarsson (when he’s healthy). Just like the good ‘ol days. Meanwhile, like nearly any forward, Jurco has a skill set that will fit in well with Chicago’s star forwards and for just the cost of a third-rounder, could represent a long-term fit with the Blackhawks.
Dallas Stars:
- Acquired conditional 2017 second-round pick from Anaheim Ducks for Patrick Eaves
- Acquired 2017 fourth-round pick and Greg Pateryn from Montreal Canadiens for Jordie Benn
- Acquired conditional 2018 fourth-round pick and Mark McNeill from Chicago Blackhawks for Johnny Oduya
- Acquired Dillon Heatherington from Columbus Blue Jackets for Lauri Korpikoski
The Stars are a tough team to place at the 2017 deadline. They are in the midst of an unforeseen epic collapse of a season and have done well to trade their impending free agents. If Patrick Sharp, Ales Hemsky, and Adam Cracknell weren’t all hurt, Dallas would be a deadline loser for not moving them. As it stands, they did hold on to Jiri Hudler, but traded their three other healthy upcoming UFAs. Eaves earned them great value in return and Korpikoski, a late off-season addition, nets a promising young defenseman in Heatherington. Even McNeill and a fourth-rounder for Oduya is a pretty good deal. So for those three moves anyway, GM Jim Nill did well. With that said, the Benn trade was ill-timed and doesn’t make your team better. Benn still had term on his contract and was the team’s best defensive defenseman and, of course, captain Jamie Benn‘s older brother. Dallas will likely regret that move. The Stars are teetering on the edge of winner and loser, but they’ve been through enough this season, so we’ll call them winners.
Trade Deadline Summary: Winners & Losers Of The Metropolitan Division
The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, and while it wasn’t the most exciting deadline day in recent memory, there were quite a few notable moves. Here are the winners and losers of the dominant Metropolitan Division:
Winners
Carolina Hurricanes:
- Acquired 2017 second-round pick and Danny Kristo from Pittsburgh Penguins for Ron Hainsey
- Acquired 2017 third-round pick from the Ottawa Senators for Viktor Stalberg
Not all that much happening in Raleigh, but what GM Ron Francis did do, he did well. Both Hainsey and Stalberg brought back returns that were greater than their market value. It was also nice of Francis to send Hainsey to a team where his career-long playoff drought would definitely be snapped. Not sure why Jay McClement wasn’t moved, but there simply may not have been interest. The Hurricanes have a ton of salary cap space and have to dip into their depth on defense sooner or later, but this year’s deadline was definitely not the time for big moves. Expect Carolina to be a major player in the off-season trade market.
New Jersey Devils:
- Acquired Dalton Prout from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Kyle Quincey
- Acquired 2017 sixth-round pick from the Nashville Predators for P.A. Parenteau
The Devils didn’t really have any trade capital today other than Quincey and Parenteau, so good on GM Ray Shero for doing what he could with what he had. It’s strange that New Jersey was able to get a higher pick from the Predators for Vernon Fiddler earlier this season than they did for Parenteau, but injuries may have played into that. A full season of production and a draft pick in compensation isn’t that bad a return for an early-season waiver claim. The Quincey deal was the real star of the show though. The Devils went from taking a risk on an older, washed-up defenseman this off-season to trading him for a young, strong defensive defenseman who can be a starter for years with the team. Shero played the long con on the league this year, and it paid off.
Deadline Notes: Rangers, Red Wings, Coyotes
The New York Rangers missed out on Kevin Shattenkirk last night when he went to their division rival—and opponent tonight—the Washington Capitals. The team has been rumored to be after a right handed defenseman and may be in even more dire straits as Dan Girardi is out tonight following an ankle injury. Dan Rosen of NHL.com reports that with him out and Kevin Klein still dealing with a back injury, the Rangers are down to just five healthy defensemen with the team. They’ll bring up Steve Kampfer for tonight’s game, but may need a more permanent solution.
While the Rangers may not have acquired Shattenkirk, they have been linked to Brendan Smith of the Detroit Red Wings and could look within their division for a player like Kyle Quincey. Though neither bring the level of play the new Capitals’ defenseman does, both could help provide depth as they get healthy.
- Bob McKenzie of TSN mentioned Smith today on Twitter, saying that it is decision day for the Red Wings. If they do want to extend him, McKenzie believes it would take at least three years at $3.5MM. The Wings recently extended Nick Jensen for two more seasons and have said they want to do the same with Smith. If they can’t get it done today though, they should seriously consider moving him and trying to bring him back in the summer. That team needs as many assets as possible going forward, and with the defense market getting pretty thin, they might do quite well.
- Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports writes that though Shane Doan is still available, he is unlikely to move before the deadline. According to Morgan, teams only view him as a 13th or 14th forward, instead of the capable winger he still believes himself to be. While obviously anything can change in the next 28 hours, perhaps he will finish his career with the franchise (but not team) that drafted him.
- McKenzie also mentions that the Tampa Bay Lightning have likely approached Valtteri Filppula and asked to waive his no-trade clause. Filppula poses a real problem for the Lightning both with their cap crunch and expansion draft plans.
Reactions To The Kevin Shattenkirk Trade
The Washington Capitals shocked the hockey world last night when they pushed all their chips to the middle of the table and bet on themselves in this year’s playoffs. Adding Kevin Shattenkirk to an already stacked team was both unexpected and devastating to their closest opponents. As it happened so late at night (and with so many conditions), reactions are still pouring in from media across the country.
- T.J. Oshie may have had the best reaction, tweeting out a welcome message to his old St. Louis teammate. Oshie and Shattenkirk have played together on the world stage as well, suiting up at both the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.
- Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy writes how this move is directly related to falling at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins a year ago. The Capitals are after a championship surely, but they first need to make their way through the defending champs and get the playoff monkey off their backs. Shattenkirk will help that tremendously.
- Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press writes about the growing trend of playoff conditions and has some choice quotes from GM Brian MacLellan.
- Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post was on the conference call with the general manager and relayed his explanation, saying that Shattenkirk was the only “Grade A” option out there in what is a rental-only market.
- Craig Button on TSN’s TH2N last night spoke about the possibility that Shattenkirk leaving could open the door for the Los Angeles Kings to sneak into the playoffs. Weakening the Blues—who are still currently in a playoff spot—is good for everyone in the Western Conference playoff push.
- Also from TSN is Frank Seravalli’s take which agrees with Wyshynski on the Caps going after the Penguins’ title this year. Seravalli also mentions how the Blues have a ready replacement in the towering Colton Parayko. Parayko is set to burst onto the NHL scene with a larger role and should be watched closely this summer when he is a restricted free agent.
Indeed, getting Shattenkirk will increase the Washington Capitals chance at the Stanley Cup this year, and with it they’ve build perhaps the best right-side on any defense group in the league. Matt Niskanen and John Carlson already gave teams matchup issues in the top four and the addition of Shattenkirk makes it that much more impressive.
Any team in the East should be worried now that any addition they make is useless. They’ll have to go through the Caps to get in—that is unless those pesky Penguins get to them first.
Minor Transactions: 02/28/17
At the rate the NHL is going, there will be nothing left to do on trade deadline day but write about how good the Washington Capitals are. After acquiring the best player available in Kevin Shattenkirk, teams scramble to keep up with the best team in the league.
- The Caps have started Tuesday off as well, recalling both Riley Barber and Jakub Vrana. Since the team sent Zach Sanford to St. Louis in the deal last night, they needed a replacement for him in the lineup. T.J. Oshie is also questionable with an upper-body injury and may have to miss another game.
- They’ve also moved Andre Burakovsky to LTIR according to Mike Vogel of team site. Each day he spends on it opens up a little more cap room for a team looking to go all-in.
- Arthur Staple of Newsday tells us that the New York Islanders have recalled Josh Ho-Sang on an emergency basis. One of the team’s top prospects, Ho-Sang has yet to make his NHL debut. Interestingly enough, the team has now sent Ho-Sang back down to his AHL club but kept the emergency conditions in place. It seems like something is brewing in New York.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have sent Yanni Gourde back down after he sat out last night’s game against the Ottawa Senators. Gourde was brought up mostly as insurance against any more moves, but will now be unneeded as the Lightning will have Greg McKegg join them soon.
- After acquiring Alex Burrows from Vancouver yesterday, the Ottawa Senators have sent Mike Blunden and Phil Varone to the AHL today. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that they might not be done, but that it would be a depth move instead of another big name.
- In Vancouver they’ve called up Borna Rendulic and Richard Bachman, perhaps signalling that a trade is on the horizon. The team plays the Detroit Red Wings tonight, and it’s unclear who will be in net and on the bench for it.
Kevin Shattenkirk Reportedly Going To The Washington Capitals
Update 10:27pm: TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that if the Capitals trade Shattenkirk on or before July 1st, the Blues will receive a draft pick in the next draft. That draft pick depends on what the Capitals receive for Shattenkirk. If the Capitals get a 4th round pick or higher, the Blues will receive a draft pick two rounds later than the earliest pick received in the trade. If its a 5th or lower, the Blues will receive a 7th round pick.
Update 10:20pm: After talking with the league on a trade call for over an hour, the St. Louis Blues announce that the trade terms are: Kevin Shattenkirk (39% retained) and Pheonix Copley for 2017 1st, 2019 conditional 2nd, Zach Sanford, and Brad Malone. ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the 2019 2nd round pick is conditioned on either Shattenkirk signing with the Capitals, or if the Capitals reach the Conference Finals and Shattenkirk plays in 50% of the playoff games in the first two rounds.
Update 9:27pm: The Capitals do not have a 2nd round draft pick in either 2017 or 2018. It is possible that the condition is a 2018 2nd round pick if the Capitals acquire one.
Update 9:05pm: St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jeremy Rutherford confirms that the 2018 2nd round draft pick going back to St. Louis is conditional. Condition terms will follow.
Update 8:54pm: ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Washington is sending St. Louis a 2017 1st round draft pick, a 2018 2nd round draft pick, and forward Zach Sanford. More conditions will follow, but these are the main pieces coming back. This leaves the Capitals with only a 4th, 6th and 7th round pick in the upcoming 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The Blues will also retain some salary, but LeBrun believes it is less than 50%.
The St. Louis Blues are close to trading defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to the Washington Capitals, confirmed by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, and seconded by Blues beat writer Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Shattenkirk is in the final year of a four-year deal worth $4.25MM a year. He’s scored 11G and 31A in 61 games for the Blues so far this season, and joins a Washington team that is primed for a deep playoff run. Friedman reported that the two sides are working out a few conditions, but barring a total collapse a trade call is expected soon.
The Capitals have just over $563K in cap space, but Shattenkirk will take up an additional $968K, so moving a contract the other way is required. Washington is already the top team in the league and has the fewest goals allowed. Adding Shattenkirk just makes a great team even better. The pending UFA may slide in to the top spot on Washington’s blueline—displacing John Carlson—or man the 2nd pairing with Dmitry Orlov. Either way, the Capitals have an embarrassment of riches on defense.
It isn’t every year that a playoff-bound team trades away a talented defenseman, but the Blues were determined to get something of value from a player they knew would not re-sign in St. Louis. Last year the Blues gambled on keeping pending UFA David Backes for a playoff run only to see him leave the Blues for nothing in return.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were rumored to be involved in a potential deal for Shattenkirk, but TSN’s Craig Custance reports that the Blues’ high price was too high for the Penguins. The Tampa Bay Lightning were also involved in a potential deal six weeks ago, but that fell apart after Shattenkirk refused to sign an extension before hitting free agency.
Latest From Garrioch: Hanzal, Bishop, Shattenkirk, Defensemen
There remain five or six teams in the hunt for Arizona center Martin Hanzal, reports Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. Among the teams that are still interested are Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville, Ottawa, and San Jose. Because there are still this many suitors for him, GM John Chayka’s asking price remains quite high with a package that still includes a first round pick, a prospect, and potentially a third piece as well. Unless someone blinks in the next day or two, this situation could be one that goes right down to the wire.
As always, Garrioch has plenty of other tidbits for trade talk around the league. The full column is worth a look but here are a few other highlights:
- Although Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop is believed to be in play, several league executives believe he won’t be dealt by the deadline as they would prefer to just go after him in the summer in free agency and not have to give up any assets that way. Something that will also likely present a challenge is his $5.95MM cap hit which is something that many teams aren’t able to absorb in its entirety. If the Lightning have to retain to get a deal done, they could conceivably hold on to him and hope for a late season run; Tampa Bay is six points out of the last Wild Card spot with a game in hand on Boston.
- A pair of top teams in the East have expressed an interest in St. Louis blueliner Kevin Shattenkirk as the Penguins and Capitals have both held talks with Blues GM Doug Armstrong. It’s not likely that either team would view him as more than a rental player but given the report earlier this week that three teams have had deals fall through after being unable to come to terms on a contract extension, it’s looking more and more likely that Shattenkirk will be moved as a rental. He’ll be a big help offensively wherever he goes as he sits fourth in the league in points by a defenseman.
- Still on the blueline, the Sabres have moved into sell mode despite also being six points out of the final playoff spot. As a result, a pair of blueliners are likely to garner considerable interest in Dmitry Kulikov and Cody Franson. There’s also a belief that Dallas defender Johnny Oduya, who is slated to return to the lineup, could wind up going back to Chicago although Garrioch notes that Montreal could also be a possibility. Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin is quite familiar with Oduya from his days with the Blackhawks and the team continues to look for defensive help.