St. Louis Blues NHL Trade Rumors: Blues Having Trouble Trading Kevin Shattenkirk
It's no secret that the St. Louis Blues want to trade Kevin Shattenkirk. However, they haven't been able to move him until now. With the trade deadline just a few days away, the Blues will have to act fast, but it seems Shattenkirk refuses to cooperate.
According to TSN's Bob McKenzie, the Blues actually came close to moving Shattenkirk several times already, but the defenseman vetoed each one because he doesn't want to sign a long-term extension with the teams.
"On three occasions — dating back to the Edmonton Oilers last summer, another team in November, and most recently another team in the last month — there have been deals consummated or conditionally consummated with the St. Louis Blues for Kevin Shattenkirk if he signed a long-term extension. But in each of those three instances, Shattenkirk was not able to come to an agreement. And the one most recently, in the last month or so, we believe was a seven-year, $42 million total, worth $6 million a year," McKenzie said on a recent edition of TSN's "Insider Trading."
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St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Jeremy Rutherford said one of the teams Shattenkirk turned down was a team in the Eastern Conference and it was believed to be the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman also reported that the Arizona Coyotes failed to come up with a deal to acquire Shattenkirk early this season. Furthermore, he reportedly rejected a move to the Edmonton Oilers last summer.
Shattenkirk's refusal to sign a long-term contract with teams who are interested in acquiring him may force the Blues to shop him as a rental. Unfortunately, the team will not get much in return if they do this because he'll simply move on from the team he's traded to during the offseason.
Shattenkirk is one of the best defensemen in the league, but the Blues probably won't get equal value in return if they trade him.
