CALGARY, AB – MARCH 15: Kevin Shattenkirk #22 of the New York Rangers in action against the Calgary Flames during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on March 15, 2019 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images)
According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the New York Rangers tried to trade Kevin Shattenkirk during the 2018-19 season and will try again this summer.
During the 2017 offseason, Kevin Shattenkirk was the most sought after free agent defenseman. The New York Rangers were long considered the favorites to sign him, and they did exactly that. According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Rangers are now open to trading him.
This report comes from Larry Brooks of The New York Post. According to Brooks, the Rangers tried to trade Shattenkirk during the 2018-19 season. They even offered to retain 50% salary on him. There was talk about moving Shattenkirk around the trade deadline, and a few teams put out some feelers.
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However, those teams also wanted the Rangers to take on a bad contract, which they didn’t want to do at the time. Recently, the Rangers traded for (and signed) defenseman Adam Fox, who is considered one of the best prospects in the world.
Right now, the Rangers are investing over $23 million into their defense before factoring in the new deals RFAs Neal Pionk, Anthony DeAngelo, and Frederik Claesson might get. That’s way too much for a defense which finished in the bottom 10 in goals allowed.
Trading Shattenkirk right now would be unwise for the Rangers. While he hasn’t been great with them, they’d be selling extremely low on him. Shattenkirk was one of the NHL’s premier offensive defensemen before signing with the Rangers. A knee injury hindered his first season and he didn’t seem fully recovered from it last season.
During the 2018-19 season, Shattenkirk averaged under 19 minutes per game (18:56) for the first time in his career. His previous career low was 19:50 back in his rookie season, which he spent split between the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues.
Shattenkirk put up 28 points in 73 games last season. His points per game rate of 0.38 was the lowest of his career. Shattenkirk has two years left on his deal with a cap hit of $6.5 million. His limited no-trade clause allows him to pick 10 teams to add to a no-trade list. Shattenkirk would need to give his permission to be traded to these teams.
Ultimately, the Rangers should hang on to him. Right now, they need warm bodies. Plus, it’s hard to imagine Shattenkirk could make his trade value any worse right now. The Rangers are rebuilding and he’s not blocking any significant prospects from playing.
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Their best hope is that Shattenkirk returns to his pre-2017 self or he at least regains enough trade value to be able to be traded without retaining much salary or taking back a bad contract.