The Washington Capitals have done just that by adding defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk from the St. Louis Blues on Monday evening. Washington sent forwards Zach Sanford and Brad Malone, a first-round pick in June’s draft, and a 2019 conditional second-round pick to the Blues for Shattenkirk, and goaltender Pheonix Copley.
Copley returns to Washington, where he was an undrafted free agent in 2014.
Shattenkirk is now reunited with former teammate T.J. Oshie, who was dealt from the Blues in 2015. Copley was part of that deal as well.
Sanford was a second-round pick by the Capitals in 2013, and has 26 games NHL experience this season--his first at the top level. Malone was a fourth-round selection by the Colorado Avalanche in 2007, and has also spent time with Carolina.
The Capitals made it perfectly clear to everyone last year that they were trying to pry open a two year window to hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time. Last year, Washington won the President’s Trophy with 120 points, 11 points better than Dallas. This year, not only did the Capitals survive a 16-game winning streak by the Columbus Blue Jackets, they snapped the streak, and are three points clear of defending champion Pittsburgh for the league’s top mark.
“Deuces” (as he was affectionately known in St. Louis) is a power play specialist. This year, Shattenkirk has a career high in power play goals with seven. The Capitals boast the league’s sixth-ranked power play. Copley is also a very capable backup in net to Braden Holtby, who just ran out of gas during last year's playoffs.
Washington shoved their chips into the center of the table so fast, that some may have spilled onto the floor on the other side. This is not a move for the future, and everyone knows it. The idea of landing the #1 defenseman on the trading market shows just how serious GM Brian McLean is about erasing years of frustration. His biggest task in recent years has been getting the right parts to take some of the pressure off of Alex Ovechkin. Last year with the Oshie deal, and now landing Shattenkirk, “A.O.” can finally take the gas pedal off the floor. He has his playmaking defenseman. This may be Ovechkin’s last legitimate window to win the Stanley Cup as an elite player in the NHL. Having turned 30 just before the season, Ovechkin has his 1,000 points, and 500 career goals to get to the Hall Of Fame. He still must be in the conversation for the Hart Trophy every year, regardless of how Washington flames out in the playoffs.
This is the equivalent of the Pittsburgh Steelers trading Antonio Brown to the New England Patriots. The Patriot draft picks will be low-end, and they have added the biggest weapon the league’s star could have ever asked for.
Shattenkirk is still a free agent after this season, but that two-year window may have to be re-examined if the Capitals do not hoist Lord Stanley this summer. His $4.5M cap hit this year will be split, but he is only 27, and has rounded into one of the league’s premier offensive defensemen.
Both GMs instantly became the polarizing figures of the trade. McLean is going for it all. Consequently, Blues’ GM Doug Armstrong has let David Backes, Brian Elliott, Shattenkirk, Troy Brouwer, and Steve Ott all depart since being within two games of having home-ice the Stanley Cup Finals last season. The Blues are likely heading for a rebuild
I wonder if McLean left money on the nightstand after taking advantage of Armstrong like this.
-JC24