One of the NHL's best defenceman could end up in Edmonton?

Should the Oilers take a shot at this top defenceman?

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 7 years ago
One of the NHL's best defenceman could end up in Edmonton?
Keystone Press

One of the best defenceman hitting the rumor mill.

Recently in Elliotte Friedman's popular "30 thoughts", the name of Saint-Louis Blues' Kevin Shattenkirk resurfaced. Before the season, rumor had Saint-Louis Blues general manager, Doug Armstrong, shopping his star defenceman but since then, it has been very quiet. Shattenkirk, who's set to be a free agent comes July 1st, is the odd man out on the right side of the Blues' defensive core as Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko are both solid top-4 blueliner. Despite the fact that Shattenkirk's icetime has diminished this year, he's still among the best defencemen when it comes to Offensive production per minute as he ranks only behind Brent Burns, Justin Schultz (...) and Victor Hedman.

"Is it possible St. Louis moves Kevin Shattenkirk, freeing up cap space to do something else? The Blues can handle it, with Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko on the right side. It’s a creative move and it makes sense, since Shattenkirk and the coaching staff don’t always seem on the same page. What it also does is open up some short-term possibilities that might not otherwise exist." as per Friedman.

What about the Oilers?

If the Oilers are looking for defensive help, Shattenkirk is probably the best rental option right now and would come at a far more reasonable price than a long-term option like Jacob Trouba. As the Blues are looking to improve their roster right now, they might want to trade for players instead of draft pick. Obviously, giving away someone like Jordan Eberle or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for a rental player would be close to nonsense but the Blues have some depth they could spare; like promising forward Ivan Barbashev or 22 year-old defenceman Jordan Schmaltz.

It's all speculations right now, but one thing is for sure; Kevin Shattenkirk is on the trade market right now. What would you be willing to give to get one of the best power-play specialist in the league?

Source: Sportsnet