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Kevin Shattenkirk

Snapshots: Zibanejad, Shattenkirk, Grundstrom

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Mika Zibanejad, the recent addition for the New York Rangers, spoke in person with media today for the first time since the deal, and seemed positively thrilled for the upcoming season (via Andrew Gross of USA Today). Zibanejad, 23, is coming off two straight 20-goal seasons, impressive already for a player of his age but is expecting more this year:

I want to take the next step. I want that to be a big jump. I’ve been trying to take it step by step all the time but I think, I’m waiting and I think people are waiting, for that breakout year and that’s what I’m hoping for and that’s what I’m working towards. I feel I’m ready for that.

When the Rangers dealt established centerman Derick Brassard for Zibanejad, they traded consistency for upside, and experience for youth. Now they’ll try to build on his solid start and turn him into the top-end talent they believe he can be.  Right from the horse’s mouth, speaking about his ability to break out in the future: “I guess they wouldn’t have made that trade if they didn’t think so.”

  • While we discussed yesterday a long-standing trade rumor involving Kevin Shattenkirk, it’s definitely no longer a guarantee that he will be dealt before the season starts, as Craig Custance of ESPN reports. GM Doug Armstrong is quoted as saying “He’s a Blue and we’re excited to have him, and expect him to have a good year.”  While this doesn’t rule out a deal, Armstrong said the rumor “grew a life of its own”
  • Team Sweden lost their last game against the United States in this year’s National Junior Evaluation Camp (NJEC) happing in Plymouth, Michigan over the next few days, and now have lost one of their top scorers for at least the next couple of days. Carl Grundstrom, a recent draftee of the Toronto Maple Leafs, has been scratched from today’s game against Canada according to Adam Kimelman of NHL.com. The Swedish winger was taken 57th overall, and has three points (2G-1A) so far at the tournament.

Revisiting The Shattenkirk, Nash Trade Rumor

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It seems the Rick Nash for Kevin Shattenkirk trade rumors have been around since the New York Rangers were eliminated by Pittsburgh in the first round of the playoffs in April. Whether the rumor ever had any basis in fact or was completely conjured up by beat writers and bloggers is up for debate. Regardless, this is one rumor that has had quite the shelf life and is one that refuses to go away. They say, “where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” and there has been a lot of smoke on this one.

Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently answered questions as part of a live chat and naturally one reader asked about this. Rutherford did say, “it still seems quiet right now,” when discussing what his sources had told him about any Shattenkirk rumors. But later he also said he “wouldn’t dismiss the possibility,” of a trade involving the two players.

It makes sense for both clubs to varying degrees to make a move of this nature. The Rangers had issues much of last season involving their defense and have since lost regular defensemen Keith Yandle and Dan Boyle to trade and retirement respectively. Shattenkirk grew up a Rangers fan and idolized former Blueshirt blue liner Brian Leetch. His offensive prowess and puck moving ability would certainly go a long way toward replacing what the team lost when they dealt Yandle’s negotiating rights to Florida. And despite Shattenkirk entering the final year of his deal, his fondness for the Rangers would make him a likely candidate to sign a somewhat team-friendly extension.

On the St. Louis side, adding Nash would help offset the void of veteran leadership and skill created when David Backes and Troy Brouwer left the team in free agency. Nash’s previous experience with head coach Ken Hitchcock in Columbus also lends credibility to the belief the Blues would have interest in the veteran winger.

Not all signs point to the likelihood of heavy interest in Nash, however. St. Louis has made it known that they are focused on getting younger. They are expected to bring back Vladimir Sobotka from overseas to fill one vacancy up front. Plus they have some young prospects they might like to give a shot too before adding an expensive veteran like Nash.

Nash also makes a fair amount more money than Shattenkirk – $7.8MM cap hit but actual salaries of $8MM and 8.2MM over the next two years – but since the Rangers have plenty of cap space they would be able to retain salary to facilitate a move if they chose to do so.

I believe this trade would have already gone down if the Rangers and Blues wanted it to. It’s true the Rangers didn’t execute the deal to acquire Mika Zibanejad in exchange for Derick Brassard until well into the summer but that was due to Ottawa wishing to avoid paying out a bonus owed to Brassard on July 15th. The best guess is that the two clubs will go into the season more or less as they are today. But that doesn’t mean they can’t revisit this concept in-season if both teams are in need of a jolt ahead of the trade deadline.

Unresolved Off-Season Stories

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Most of the focus of the off-season is on the top unrestricted free agents. Most of them are off the board by now, but there are still plenty of pressing plotlines left to be explored. Whether it’s extension talks, possible trades, or area of needs for a particular team, there’s still plenty left to do. Here are some of the biggest issues that are yet to be resolved.

  • Kevin Shattenkirk: The Blues’ defenseman has been subject to trade rumors all summer, and for much of his career, with various sources linking him to the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins. Several sources reported that the Oilers could have had him in exchange for Taylor Hall, and balked because he remained unsigned, had no intention of re-signing, and prefers to play on the east coast. Shattenkirk grew up in Westchester, and given their tendency to sign big name free agents, one may wonder if “east coast” mostly means the New York Rangers. This late into the summer, the Blues may have decided to hold onto him, given how close they were to last year’s finals.
  • Rangers’ Cap: The Rangers managed to clear some space trading Derick Brassard to the Ottawa Senators for fellow center Mika Zibanejad. The Rangers have a lot of work to do, after falling off from a hot start, being unceremoniously dumped out of the first round of the playoffs by the eventual champion Pittburgh Penguins, and once again relying heavily on goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who turned 34 in March. The Rangers also had several expensive players disappoint last year, including Marc Staal (signed until 2021), Dan Girardi (2020), and Rick Nash (2018). If they are to make a move for Shattenkirk, or make many improvements at all, they’ll have to clear cap space. Their second buyout window may tempt them into cutting their losses with Girardi, and there’s been trade speculation surround Nash for a while now.
  • Stars’ Goaltending: No playoff team allowed more goals than the Dallas Stars this year, and in the entire league, only the Calgary Flames had a lower team save percentage. Two of the top available goaltenders, former Blue Brian Elliott, now of the Flames, and former Duck Frederik Andersen, now of the Maple Leafs, are off the market. There’s been a lot of talk about Tampa Bay’s Ben Bishop, given his pending free agent status, the Lightning’s cap situation, and the percieved promise of backup Andrei Vasilevskiy, who turns 22 on Monday. Still, a Stanley Cup contender in Tampa Bay may not be keen on moving an established star in Bishop, the runner up for this year’s Vezina trophy, to run with someone unproven. There aren’t a lot of other option out there, though there’s been trade talk surrounding the Penguins’ Marc-Andre Fleury, and they may end up having to wait until mid-season to get a goaltender. Incumbents Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen are under contract at $10.4MM combined per year in the mean time.
  • Ducks’ Budget: The Ducks don’t really have a lot of work to do this offseason. They never did, having won their division, and clearly deciding that coaching was the problem, rather than their core of players. Still, they’re a budget team, with just under $65MM in budgetary commitments, though some of that will be eased by the Maple Leafs, having already paid half of the newly acquired Jonathan Bernier’s salary in his July signing bonus. But they still have to sign restricted free agents Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm, and the betting was on the Ducks moving one of their young defensemen this off-season. The Ducks would probably do just about anything possible to keep Lindholm, Sami Vatanen, or Josh Manson, but they’ve displayed a willingness to move Cam Fowler for the right price. It’s difficult to say what exactly they’ll do now, given that the market clearly isn’t paying the Ducks’ asking price for Fowler, but it’s more likely they’ll lower their price for him than let someone like Lindholm go.

Shattenkirk Open To Western Conference Trade

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The Kevin Shattenkirk trade sweepstakes might just be bigger than previously thought. Despite the widespread belief that Shattenkirk would only sign long-term in the Eastern Conference, the offensive defenceman remains open to extend with some Western Conference teams, Jeremy Rutherford reports.

Rutherford tweeted that the door is not completely closed, but Shattenkirk is only open to some teams, presumably only contenders. That means, despite having the pieces to make a trade for Shattenkirk, the Edmonton Oilers do not appear to be in the running for the defender.

The St. Louis Blues writer for NHL.com Lou Korac believes the Blues asking price was Taylor Hall or Jordan Eberle. The high cost of acquiring Shattenkirk, plus the risk of him walking after this coming season could put a damper on some teams’ interest. However, the Bruins, Red Wings, Sabres, and Flyers have all inquired about trading for Shattenkirk. According to Joey Alfieri of NBC Sports, the asking price was David Pastrnak and both of the Bruins first round picks from Boston, or Dylan Larkin from the Red Wings.

Jordan Neumann, Shattenkirk’s agent, told ESPN’s Craig Custance that based on their conversations with St. Louis, they expected Shattenkirk to be dealt over the draft weekend.

Shattenkirk has one year left on his contract, with $4.25MM cap hit. According to CapFriendly, Shattenkirk will make $5.2MM in real dollars.

Pacific Notes: Canucks, Ducks, Coyotes

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Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning found out talk isn’t so cheap after all. The NHL fined Benning $50,000 for his comments regarding Steven Stamkos and P.K. Subban reports Navin Vaswani. According to the report, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said that Benning violated By-Law 15 for speaking about his interest in other teams’ players. Sports Illustrated’s Allan Muir writes that while the comments may seem harmless, it’s the willingness to express signing desires for “public consumption” that landed Benning a fine.

Other Pacific Division Notes:

  • The Ducks have indeed been talking with the Red Wings about Cam Fowler writes Mike Halford. The news was also reported by The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. The Ducks would be a perfect trade partner for the Red Wings as they recently re-signed Sami Vatanen and could move Fowler’s reasonable contract that has a $4MM cap hit. After the Wings balked at the apparent price for Kevin Shattenkirk, which included Dylan Larkin. Fowler has also been linked with Buffalo.
  • Sarah McLellan writes that new Coyotes general manager John Chayka says that the Pavel Datsyuk contract poses no issues for the organization. Chayka indicates that he wouldn’t have made the move had it hindered the ’Yotes financially. But because Datysuk retired from the NHL, there is no payment attached to the contract. Instead, the Coyotes absorb the $7.5MM cap hit. McLellan also writes that the possibility of gaining a defenseman of Jakob Chychrun’s caliber was too good to pass up. As a result, they agreed to take on the contract. McLellan also spoke to Chayka about acquiring defenseman Anthony DeAngelo from Tampa Bay, an Arizona target for quite some time.

Snapshots: Kane, Shattenkirk, Sharks

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In some startling news, WCVB news reports that Boston Bruins’ legendary defenceman Ray Bourque was arrested on Friday night on driving while intoxicated charges after a collision occurred in the Andover area. No one was seriously injured, and Bourque was released on bail.  Here are some more stories from around the league:

  • Another player no stranger to legal trouble, Evander Kane’s name was in the headlines again in Buffalo following an alleged incident involving the physical harassment of two women at a downtown bar.  The Associated Press was told that Kane “grabbed the woman by the arm or shoulder early Friday morning.” For Kane, this is the second incident this year involving the police, after a three-month investigation into an alleged sexual assault concluded in March without any charges been filed. The Buffalo News spoke to GM Tim Murray on Saturday about it and he seemed frustrated with the situation: “If it’s true, then we have to deal with it the way we have to deal with it. If it’s false again, then I guess we have to come up with a different plan of attack on how to make sure that these accusations that may not be true, how we stop them.”
  • In other news, St. Louis Blues’ defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk was shocked to leave Buffalo without having been traded. Craig Custance of ESPN spoke to Shattenkirk’s agent Jordan Neumann about the 27-year old’s future: “Based on the conversations we had leading into this weekend with St. Louis, we did expect Kevin to have been traded this weekend. We are a bit surprised to be leaving here without having a deal done.” The veteran blueliner has one year left on his deal at $4.25MM and is widely expected to be traded soon.

Snapshots: Shattenkirk, Nugent-Hopkins, Bobrovsky

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As we inch closer to the 2016 NHL Draft, trade speculation continues. Here’s a quick look at what’s being said around the league.

  • Michael Russo tweets that the Wild and Oilers might pair up on a deal. Russo speculates that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the likely target for the Wild. David Staples writes that he’s not the biggest fan of this move. While it would yield Mathew Dumba or Jonas Brodin (or possibly both), Staples doesn’t believe it benefits the Oilers in terms of obtaining the puck moving defenseman they need.
  • Jimmy Murphy tweets that Kevin Shattenkirk remains a very high priority for several teams. Murphy indicated that the Bruins first round selection (14th overall) might just do the trick.  Murphy includes the Red Wings, Rangers, Canadiens, and Coyotes as other possibilities. Joe Haggerty believes the Bruins will ultimately end up with Shattenkirk.
  • Kevin Allen writes more about Cam Fowler moving to another team. Allen lists the Red Wings, Canadiens, Bruins, and Sabres as possible landing points. Allen also reports that the Blue Jackets will listen to offers for their 3rd overall pick. Kevin McGran tweeted this as well, adding that Columbus is looking for a proven center.
  • Aaron Portzline reports that the Blue Jackets may want to look at offloading goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. The $7.425MM cap hit would be tough to unload on another team without either a weaker return or a willingness to take on some of the salary. Portzline also listed the four goalies who are being shopped: Bobrovsky, Jimmy Howard, Ben Bishop, and Marc-Andre Fleury.

Snapshots: Subban, Kulikov, Fowler, Shattenkirk

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In advance of tonight’s first round of the draft, many prominent defensemen have seen their name involved in trade speculation in recent days.  Here is the latest on who may or may not be on the move.

Snapshots: Stamkos, Shattenkirk, Bruins, Canucks, Coyotes, Datsyuk

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Saturday is shaping up to be an important day in the Steven Stamkos saga, writes TSN’s Frank Seravelli.  The interview period with pending unrestricted free agents kicks off on Saturday, meaning that the Lightning have less than 48 hours left of exclusive negotiating rights with their captain.  As a result, GM Steve Yzerman may have to deliver his best offer to Stamkos by Friday before other teams have an opportunity to make their pitch.

Other news and notes around the league:

Atlantic Notes: Maple Leafs, Murray, DeKeyser

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National Post writer Steve Simmons spoke with Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello about the slew of choices facing the Maple Leafs. Simmons expects the Leafs, along with everyone else in the hockey world, to select Arizona native Auston Matthews with the first overall pick. Simmons compares Matthews to former Leafs icon Mats Sundin. Lamoriello also told Simmons that the acquisition of goalie Frederik Andersen from Anaheim secures the Leafs’ goaltending for at least the next five years. After that, the decisions are murky. Simmons writes that the $25MM in contractual obligations to players who may never wear the jersey is just one of several problems Lamoriello must solve.

Other news around the Atlantic Division:

  • As Buffalo prepares to host the NHL Draft tomorrow evening, Sabres general manager Tim Murray ponders what moves he has to make next. Buffalo News reporter Mike Harrington writes that Murray has “reeled in” a number of big names to construct a powerful young core, but that his work is far from over. Harrington reports that Murray may be targeting Anaheim defenseman Cam Fowler, and that the Sabres might be willing to part with their eighth overall pick in the draft to do so. Additionally, Harrington lists St. Louis Blues d-man Kevin Shattenkirk and even New York Rangers forward Rick Nash as potential targets.
  • Detroit Red Wings restricted free agent Danny DeKeyser told MLive’s Brendan Savage that he doesn’t anticipate any issues signing a new deal with Detroit. Speaking to Savage after throwing out the first pitch at the Detroit Tigers game, DeKeyser indicated that while negotiations have yet to get serious, the 26-year-old defenseman expects to be suiting up for the Winged Wheel once training camp begins. DeKeyser is one of four restricted free agents that the Wings have yet to lock up.

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