On the St. Louis Blues …
Jeremy Rutherford: Blues GM Doug Armstrong met with Vladimir Sobotka and his agent at the World Cup. Armstrong said that the situation is more complicated than he was originally led to believe. Sobotka’s camp is still trying to get out of his KHL contract and Armstrong hopes to have an answer by tomorrow.
Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The Blues wanted to, but were unable to trade defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. Shattenkirk will try to avoid the speculation, but knows it will likely continue throughout the season, especially if they need a forward or if someone suffers a long-term injury. The Blues don’t want to lose him for nothing to free agency next offseason. It will be a distraction until he’s either re-signed or traded. The Blues won’t get full value for him unless Shattenkirk is willing to sign an extension with the acquiring team.
Lou Korac of NHL.com: Kevin Shattenkirk heard the trade rumors this offseason, but always hoped he’d be able to remain with the Blues.
“When I walked out of the locker room, I had a feeling that I might be , and then a few weeks later, it looked a little uncertain,” Shattenkirk said. “In all the dialogue that I had over the summer, there was always a chance that I would be back here. I think that was something that I always had to hang on to and keep in my mind. It was something that when I really thought about it, it was never something that I would have been disappointed to be back where I am right now.
“This is where I’m home. This is where I feel most comfortable is in this locker room with these guys playing in this system. If I had to go somewhere else for another year, it would be an adjustment.”
On the San Jose Sharks …
Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area: (mailbag) Kurz doesn’t think that at least one of Tommy Wingles, Matt Nieto, or Melker Karlsson will be in the Sharks opening day lineup. Wingels and Nieto could lose their jobs to younger players.
Kurz thinks that the Sharks could lose one of Brenden Dillon, Paul Martin, David Schlemko and Mirco Mueller in the expansion draft.