On the St. Louis Blues, Kevin Shattenkirk, Ken Hitchcock, Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers …
Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Think the St. Louis Blues would be open to a Kevin Shattenkirk sign-and-trade, but haven’t heard that a single team has contact the Blues about the idea. Source saying that all teams that have talked Blues about Shattenkirk are only interested in him as a rental. On why that is?
“Because of the flat-cap fear,” said one Eastern Conference team executive.
LeBrun thinks the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins are among the teams that have kicked tires on Shattenkirk.
Ken Hitchcock could be interested in coaching again if he could find a GM that would let him “flex his coaching philosophy.”
The Colorado Avalanche are willing to be patient with Matt Duchene and could wait until the offseason as there would likely be a better offer then. The Montreal Canadiens are believed to be interested, but not at the high asking price.
Think that Martin Hanzal would be a better fit for the Canadiens than Duchene. Hearing that 10 teams have made serious inquiries about Hanzal.
The Los Angeles Kings had a brief talk with the Avalanche about Gabriel Landeskog.
The Buffalo Sabres will trade Dmitry Kulikov close to the deadline if they fall out of the playoff race.
Think the Toronto Maple Leafs will stick to their guns and won’t give up any high-end assets for a rental.
Don’t see the Edmonton Oilers as a trade fit for Kevin Shattenkirk. Now may not be the time for them to give up future assets for a costly rental.
On Kevin Shattenkirk …
Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports: Darren Dreger on TSN saying that some teams wouldn’t want to give Kevin Shattenkirk a seven or eight year contract in the $7 million range.
“And the reality is Shattenkirk is viewed at best as a second-pairing defenseman,” said Dreger. “Some teams that I talk to have him as a No. 5 guy. He’s terrific on the power play.
“But that’s a decision as an organization you have to make. Do you want to pay a 4-5 guy $7 million or more on a long term. Probably not.”
Dreger was on WGR 550 saying that he’s viewed as a power-play specialist. He’s a second pairing defenseman, who struggles on 5-on-5 at times.
“If you’re paying $7 million per, you need to get Victor Hedman or Drew Doughty or Brent Burns. That’s the type of player that you’re looking at when you’re looking at $7 million-plus.”