With the NHL draft three days away, the phones are buzzing with teams looking to add to their rosters before the free agent deadline later this summer.
One name that has been the subject matter of a lot of those phone calls is Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk.
Darren Dreger on Twitter
Shattenkirk watch is on. Seems unlikely Blues will be able to extend him. Boston among those most interested in trade, but interest is high.
At age 27, Shattenkirk carries a $4.25 million cap hit through the next year, but he could see that number rise in the near future. The blue liner had his best offensive year, statistically, last season tallying 44 points with 14 goals and 52.35 CORSI, which are all career highs.
Reports show many teams interested with the major two players being the Boston Bruins and the Edmonton Oilers.
Chris Nichols on Twitter
Dreger/Shattenkirk: Boston #Bruins have already launched what we believe to be a first-round pick at #stlblues, and that wasn’t good enough.
Boston has picks number 14 and 29 in this years draft, so it sounds like the price will include at minimum a mid-level prospect and a first-round selection.
TSN’s Darren Dreger appeared on Toronto’s TSN 1050 and said he heard for a fact Boston offered a first-round selection. He went on to say Peter Chiarelli of the Edmonton Oilers has made calls to St. Louis, but has been very hesitant to part with the pieces the Blues have asked for in return.
One factor that is on the Blues side is that the rights to both Keith Yandle and Alex Goligoski were moved this week. On Monday, the Florida Panthers acquired Yandle for a 6th round selection and a conditional 4th round pick while the Arizona Coyotes picked up Goligoski’s rights for a 5th round pick from Dallas. With two other bigger defensive names off the board, Shattenkirk stands pretty much alone in the trade market.
Other potential names on the defensive side swirling around include Minnesota’s Matt Dumba and Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba, but neither have the NHL experience Shattenkirk has.
The NHL draft will begin Friday, June 24th at 7 p.m. ET with day two being Saturday. Meanwhile, the first day of NHL free agency is July 1st, so expect a deal to get done before then if Shattenkirk is to be moved.
