The St. Louis Blues need to quit bleeding assets. The Edmonton Oilers need a puck-moving defender with excellent offensive instincts to facilitate their top-tier attack.
But before we set up the trade call, there are a few obstacles to clear should the Oilers re-set sights on Kevin Shattenkirk, the high-skilled defender playing out what remains of his cost-effective contract.
St. Louis is penciled into the postseason bracket as a top three team in the Central Division, an uncommon position for a would-be seller. Further, with Ken Hitchcock on his final turn as coach, the Blues were assumed to have every intention of taking one last run at a ring in their current, albeit underachieving, configuration.
To that point, though Shattenkirk lacks no-move protection and can be dealt to the highest bidder before March 1, it's in both the Blues' and the buyer's best interest to work out a situation that sees the defenseman relinquish the control he'll gain when he becomes an unrestricted free agent four months later. In the long game, rentals only hurt the Oilers (though fall short of devastating if they're cheap), because this team isn't quite ready to truly contend. But let's be real: The Blues aren't spoiling a chance to win this season for pennies on the dollar. A deal will only make sense if Shattenkirk is willing to commit term to the up-and-(finally)coming program. And he was apparently reluctant to portion even a season to Edmonton when talks surfaced last summer.
Have the Oilers, led by megastar Connor McDavid, done what's necessary to change his perception?
Among other potential booby traps: working out a suitable return for the Blues, attributing a value to Shattenkirk that would work under Edmonton's present and future financial structure (remember: McDavid will soon command the NHL's highest annual salary, if he wants it), and the potential implications of the upcoming expansion draft.
All that said, the Oilers shouldn't be discouraged; this is the player they need.
There are big bodies, big shots, cloggers, and players who readily go high off the glass on the Oilers' backline. There isn't a player that can neatly retrieve the puck in his own zone, land a precise first pass to launch an attack without hesitation, create from the top of the umbrella, and put up points in large quantities.
A true power-play specialist, Shattenkirk is one of four defensemen with an all-situations points rate above two, along with Brent Burns, Justin Schultz (we won't touch that), and Victor Hedman. He's on pace to hit career-best totals, but efficient high-end production has been a constant throughout his career. Burns, Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, and John Klingberg are the only defenders over the last five years with a greater output than Shattenkirk's 1.73 points/60 minutes.
He's perennially been one of the top possession-driving defenders and a potent catalyst for scoring chances. He's at 53.6 percent even-strength score- and venue-adjusted possession over the last half decade, which is tops among Blues.
Short on top-end speed to offset mistakes and positional lapses, Shattenkirk maintains strong metrics in all three facets - offense, defense, and transition - primarily through his ingenuity.
The efficiency and creativity he's shown in retrieving, handling, and distributing the puck would aid an Oilers team often still undermined by a prevailing disconnect between offense and defense. And when the Oilers arrived in the opposition's end, his awareness would amplify the threat as the McDavids, Leon Draisaitls, and Jordan Eberles circle.
The Oilers' scheme caters to Shattenkirk's strengths by already employing a slow, patient, somewhat plodding pace on the back end and relying on the forwards' speed to transport the puck between zones.
With the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks also in the race for the division crown, and the Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings lurking the wild-card position, the Oilers might require a move to ensure this is their first playoff season in more than a decade.
But to truly become a championship contender in the not-so-distant future, the Oilers need to address their greatest weakness in terms of role. Until they find a creative right-shot puck mover, they will be without balance on the back end, and their transition won't be as crisp, and their power play not as productive, as it has the potential to be.
Shattenkirk can help accomplish their goals for this season, and continue that trend in the seasons to come.
If that interests him.
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