In 73 games this season Kevin Shattenkirk had two goals, 26 assists, a minus 15 rating and an average of 18:56 per game.
Shattenkirk only had one goal and six assists on the PP this season and ranked third overall on the team in total PP time played but fifth in PP time per game.
He was a healthy scratch twice during the year in the Rangers 4th and 67th games and missed seven games in December due to a shoulder injury.
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Shattenkirk has two more seasons left on his contract with cap hits of $6.65 million as well as a no-move clause and a modified no-trade clause.
If the Rangers were to buy out Shattenkirk’s final two seasons the cap hit would be:
- 2019-20: $1.483 million
- 2020-21: $6.083 million
- 2021-22: $1.433 million
- 2022-23: $1.433 million
Shattenkrik said that he thinks he has a higher level of play to get to and one that would allow him to be the player “everyone wants me to be here.” (The Athletic)
Asked about Shattenkirk on 3/21, David Quinn said “he and I went to breakfast two days ago, the day of the game and talked about this. I think he has played better, and he feels this way too, there needs to be more consistency in his game but his good has been better. He wants to minimize some of the mistakes and consistency. He is being more productive offensively which we love, I loved what he did on our last PP against Detroit, that was the best our PP has looked in three weeks and he was a big part of that. There was a pace, attack mentality from his end of it, I think that fueled the rest of the PP.”
Quinn continued, “for sure I think there is another level for him to get at and he has gotten better. Guys can continue to get better and they need to continue to get better no matter how old you are. I know we have all touched on his injury and when you are coming back from a knee injury sometimes it takes a little longer to fully get back, if you are 98% back, that 2% is a big difference in this league. If some guys were 2% better than they were they would probably be in the league instead of the minor league, it’s a big difference. I think he is still creeping back to 100%, not making excuses for him, I just think it’s reality and that his better play has been better lately.”
Shattenkirk said in late March that he has enjoyed working with the young Rangers and trying to “help them along.” (The Athletic)
He said that he felt his game had “really come back” following his December injury but added that he wanted his PP performance to be better. (The Athletic)
Adam Rotter: Shattenkirk has some level of control about his future so it’s more likely than not that he remains with the Rangers. That could certainly change, especially if the Rangers go after a big time defenseman like Erik Karlsson as a free agent or someone else on the trade market. Shattenkirk still holds some value as a veteran offensive defenseman that can work with Tony DeAngelo, Neal Pionk and some of the Rangers other young defenders with offensive upside.