Granted, it might be a bluff. But according to St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong, the Blues are leaning towards keeping defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk.
“I think the Kevin Shattenkirk thing grew on a life of its own at the draft. What I’ve said internally here is that we’re excited to have Kevin Shattenkirk as a part of our team,” Armstrong told the NHL Network today, per CSN New England.
Shattenkirk has just one year left on his contract, and with Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko on the right side of the defense in St. Louis, many felt that the 27-year-old, right-shooting puck mover would be traded for a solid return.
That wasn’t just speculation either. In fact, Shattenkirk’s agent recently called a trade “inevitable.”
But Armstrong isn’t saying that now. Even if he can’t get Shattenkirk re-signed, it may be that the next pressure point is the trade deadline.
“If you get to a part of the year and you have guys that are unrestricted and your team is no good, then you make those decisions,” he said. “But if you have a good team and you have guys that are unrestricted, you just play it out.”
Again, he might be bluffing.
The Boston Bruins were one of the favorites to land Shattenkirk. Currently, their defense looks pretty much the same as it did at the end of the regular season, save for the subtraction of Dennis Seidenberg who’s been bought out.
Related: Neely says fixing the defense is “at the top of the list” for Bruins this offseason
