The Anaheim Ducks signed unrestricted free-agent defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk to a three-year contract worth $11.7 million, that carries a salary-cap hit of $3.9 million per season. This contract takes him through the 2022-23 season.
three years, $3.9 M AAV for Shattenkirk in Anaheim https://t.co/8BzWZWcLVD
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 9, 2020
Kevin Shattenkirk Signs With the Anaheim Ducks
Over his 10-year NHL career, Shattenkirk has played for the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning. Before signing with the Lightning, Shattenkirk was bought out by the Rangers. He has put up 83 goals and 300 assists for 383 points in 679 career games.
Shattenkirk was originally drafted in the first round, 14th overall of the 2007 NHL Draft by the Avalanche. He helped lead the Blues to the Western Conference Finals in 2015-16 and he helped lead the Lightning to the Stanley Cup Final against the Dallas Stars last season.
Last season, he scored eight goals and 26 assists for 34 points in 70 regular season games. He added 38 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 53.8 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of 2.5. He averaged 18:54 minutes of ice time in the regular season.
What This Means for the Future
In Shattenkirk, the Ducks are getting a veteran two-way defenceman. What he lacks in defensive abilities, he makes up for in offensive production, mostly assists. He is capable of playing in the top defensive pairing. When he is put on the top defensive pairing, he often gets the puck to the first line forwards.
While his best years seem to be behind him offensively, he still contributes on a regular basis. He also has 10 seasons of experience under his belt and can help lead the team and give advice, especially to the young players. It will be interesting to see how Shattenkirk will be utilized going forward. While he did see power-play minutes with the Lightning, they saw him as more of a second pair defenceman than a top pairing guy.
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