Knowing Kevin Shattenkirk wasn't in their long-term plans, the St. Louis Blues traded the talented defenseman and braced for the immediate blow to their playoff hopes.
That never happened. St. Louis actually got better without him.
When the Blues dealt the pending free agent at the trade deadline, they seemed to be creating a giant void on their blue line and gift-wrapping the NHL-best Washington Capitals with their deepest defense in a decade. Yet St. Louis has thrived thanks to the elevated play of captain Alex Pietrangelo and second-year defenseman Colton Parayko while Shattenkirk plays a limited, specialized role for Washington.
With Pietrangelo taking over top power-play duties, Parayko pitching in and 6-4, 221-pound Robert Bortuzzo providing some bulk on the back end, the new-look Blues cruised into the second round with a 4-1 series victory over the Wild and haven't missed a beat without Shattenkirk.
"We're bigger, all six guys are big men, and now we have two players that play with a little more nasty than we had when we had five guys that played one way and sort of Joel Edmundson doing the majority of the physical work," Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong said. "Now we have two players that are bringing some of that physical play."
Armstrong won't mince words: He didn't trade Shattenkirk to shake things up. He dealt the 28-year-old for picks and young forward Zach Sanford because there was no chance of re-signing him this summer.
On the flip side, Capitals GM Brian MacLellan only got involved when it became clear Shattenkirk was a rental and not long-term commitment.
After being a top-four defenseman in St. Louis, Shattenkirk is a third-pairing player and power-play specialist for Washington. He was among the team leaders in overall minutes in Games 1 and 2 before having his ice time slashed to a career playoff low 12:54 in Game 4 and ranking fifth or six on the Capitals blue line the remainder of their first-round series against Toronto.
