The Tampa Bay Lightning snapped up Kevin Shattenkirk this morning on a one-year deal and the veteran defenseman is determined to make it pay off for both sides. Looking to re-establish himself in the NHL he told reporters including Joe Smith of The Athletic that he was “pissed off” when he received his buyout and now has a “huge chip” on his shoulder.
Smith also reports that Shattenkirk had 11 teams reach out to him once he became an unrestricted free agent, and Richard Morin of AZ Central Sports tweets that the Arizona Coyotes were one of them. The defenseman was close to joining the Lightning in the past when he was on the trade block but wouldn’t sign an extension with Tampa Bay, but now will have the chance to show the organization what he is capable of.
- The Vegas Golden Knights have most of their offseason business dealt with, but Jimmy Schuldt remains unsigned after burning through his entry-level contract in the last few weeks of the 2018-19 season. Jesse Granger of The Athletic reports that negotiations with the young defenseman only recently started, perhaps delayed because of all of the other moves the team needed to make. After trading away the likes of Nikita Gusev, Erik Haula and Colin Miller the Golden Knights got themselves under the salary cap, but not by a ton. It will be interesting to see what kind of salary Schuldt can command after playing just a single NHL game. The St. Cloud State standout signed with the Golden Knights after an excellent college career and could see regular time on their blueline this season.
- Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the St. Louis Blues and Pat Maroon “remain on one another’s radar” even this late into the offseason. Maroon remains an unrestricted free agent for the time being after playing a year with the Blues last season at a discount in order to be closer to family. That decision worked out for him in terms of team success at the Blues went on to win the Stanley Cup, but one has to wonder if a multi-year deal is still the expectation for the power forward. Maroon scored just 10 goals and 28 points for the Blues in 74 games but was a physical force in the playoffs and ended up poking home one of the most memorable game-winning tallies of the entire postseason.
Guess he’s not a life long Ranger fan after all…
So I guess you can’t go home again. I expect a huge year out of shattenkirk
and im pissed off he was trash for the rangers.
link to capfriendly.com
Now to lock up Point on a bridge deal, and get Erne signed. Ruutta becomes 7th Defenseman for Lightning.
playing on the third pair where he belongs
Why didn’t he have a chip on his shoulder in New York?
I don’t know, I tend to roll away from media driven narratives or cliches when they describe athletes. “He’s got a chip on his shoulder.” Or “they need a team identity.” Those kinda cliches. 99% of the time it’s about effort and talent. That’s it. He can be mad all he wants but if it doesn’t help him on the ice or translate into points then who cares ya know?
I like Shattenkirk but he was always a tad bit overrated in STL and now it’s showing a bit.
He, on the third pair will be great.