On the St. Louis Blues, Vladimir Sobotka and Kevin Shattenkirk …
Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Vladimir Sobotka promised to return to the Blues for this season, but his KHL team, Omsk Avangard, is saying that he is still under contract with them.
The Blues and Sobotka were about $300,000 apart when he decided to head back to the KHL. Sobotka changed agents twice when talking with the Blues before the 2014-15 season. He wanted at least $3 million in the first year of a deal, and increasing for the following season.
Had Sobotka taken the $2.7 million and remained with the Blues, he could have asked for $4.5 or more as a free agent.
The Blues have the cap space to add him this year, but if he’s not able to come over, they will have additional room that they can use elsewhere.
One option could be a deal with the Rangers. The Rangers like Kevin Shattenkirk and could be willing to give him a long-term deal. The Rangers could be open to moving winger Rick Nash and his $7.8 million cap hit. The savings on not having Sobotka could make up the difference between Shattenkirk’s and Nash’s salary.
Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The Blues had trade talks before the draft about defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. Shattenkirk talked with head coach Ken Hitchcock and will focus on the season ahead.
Shattenkirk is entering the final year of his deal and carries a $4.25 million salary cap hit. He could be looking at a long-term deal worth $6 million plus a season if he were to go to the open market. Shattenkirk plays on the right side, with the Blues also having Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko on the right.
“You’re waiting for Bettman to see if he’s going to say, ‘We have a trade to announce,’” Shattenkirk said. “It just seemed like a moment where whatever Army was looking for, he could have found at the draft — maybe younger players, and prospects and picks. But it came and went and then you kind of realized that you psyched yourself out for nothing.”
It is believed that the Edmonton Oilers and the Blues may have had a deal worked out that involved Taylor Hall, but Shattenkirk wasn’t willing to sign an extension with the Oilers. The Blues could have sent Shattenkirk to the Oilers without an extension in place, but Oilers asked for another roster player to be included and the Blues wouldn’t do that.
“Most players only get one kick at the can with this situation, going to free agency,” Shattenkirk said. “I don’t want to say ‘Make the deal’ to make the deal. I want to make sure it’s somewhere I want to be. It’s just a matter of control and when you have that little bit of control, you want to use that as best as possible. If I’m not going to be (in St. Louis), I want to be somewhere that I enjoy for the next however many years of my life.”