Considering Kevin Shattenkirk’s name has been linked to the Boston Bruins for well over the decade, you figured there had to be a union at some point.
And at the age of 34, the former Boston University Terrier will finally don the Black and Gold after signing a one-year, $1 million deal on Saturday.
After winning the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2020, he spent the last three years with the also-ran Anaheim Ducks. He’s excited to join a team that he believes has a chance to contend, regardless of whether Patrice Bergeron and/or David Krejci come back.
“It seems like there’s been opportunities and discussions along the way even back to when I was drafted. I thought Boston was actually where I was going to end up,” said Shattenkirk, who was taken by Colorado with the 14th pick in the 2007 draft (the Bruins reached for Zach Hamill at the eighth slot). “This year, Don Sweeney called us and laid out his thoughts on me and how I fit with the team and it just unfolded that way.
“It was pretty organic. The opportunity and the fit was really what appealed to me. Getting back to a team that’s a Stanley Cup contender was exciting. I’ve lost that over the last three years being in more of a rebuilding situation. Getting excited about that again is great and something every hockey player will tell you is the most important thing.”
Speaking via Zoom on Wednesday, Shattenkirk said the uncertainty surrounding Bergeron and Krejci did not enter much into his thinking when he signed his deal with the Bruins.
“I know what those two mean to the team. I’ve played against them for a long time and those are big holes to fill,” said Shattenkirk. “You also look at the team they’ve put together over the last few years and some of the guys they’ve added and I think they’re fully capable of shouldering that weight. Patrice is obviously a cornerstone of this team and David is as well. At every point in a team’s progression, guys have to step up and play their roles and take over.”
“If push comes to shove and that’s where we end up, it’s going to be on the shoulders of some of the other players on the team to take over that role. Certainly we’re a better team if those two come back. I’m sure there’s a lot of intangibles that they bring in the locker room that I’m not privy to, but I can tell you as an opponent how frightening it is to play against those guys and see them in the lineup.”
At this stage of his career, the right-shooting Shattenkirk sees himself as a third-pair defenseman with the ability to pitch in on the second power play and play up in the lineup in a pinch. But with 891 NHL games under his belt and his name on the Stanley Cup, he believes he could be of help to Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm.
“I talked to (Coach) Jim Montgomery about this. Between Hampus and Charlie, there’s two really Norris-caliber defensemen there and they’re still growing into the expectations as players,” said Shattenkirk, a five-time 40-plus point man earlier in his career. “I think being able to be a sounding board for them, especially in that kind of a role, a power-play role or whatever, is something we discussed and is expected of me. I’ve done it before and I think it would be similar to my role in Tampa when I went there for a year.”
From his time at BU, the native New Yorker got a pretty good idea what it’s all about to be a Bruin. Aside from his three years on Commonwealth Avenue, he’s been back many times in the summer for various weddings and reunions. He was also on campus finishing up his degree in the summer of 2011 when the Bruins’ Cup parade was going on.
“Playing for the Bruins, I remember how sacred that was when I was in school,” said Shattenkirk. “It’s a place that I really cherished when I was in college and still have a soft spot for.”….
ONE OF the more interesting free-agent signings by the Bruins was that of center Morgan Geekie, who had 9-19-28 totals while seeing 10:27 per game for Seattle last season. The 24-year-old right shot centerman had two goals and two assists in 13 playoffs games for the Kraken, who upset the defending champion Avalanche in the first round.
Sweeney has talked about him earning an expanded role here, especially if the Bruins lose their top two centermen.
“I think for me, I grew up a lot as a player and I played a little bit in different situations throughout the year. I thought I had a good playoffs and any time you can add some playoff experience, it helps. It was good. I gained a lot of confidence and I’m excited about where my game is and I’m excited about where it can get to and grow,” said Geekie.
JEREMY SWAYMAN, Trent Frederic and newly acquired defenseman Ian Mitchell filed for arbitration before Wednesday’s deadline.
Swayman and Frederic have good cases for decent pay bumps. Swayman, whose last deal had an AAV of $1.05 million, shared the Jennings Trophy with Linus Ullmark while posting a 24-6-4 record, .920 save percentage and 2.27 GAA. Frederic broke out for a 17-goal season while also making $1.05 million. Mitchell, whose last deal carried a $1.775 million AAV, had 1-7-8 totals in 35 games with Chicago.
THE BRUINS signed a couple of restricted free agents, forward Jakub Lauko and goalie Kyle Keyser.
Lauko, 23, who surprisingly made the opening night roster and was an intermittent contributor to the 65-win season, signed a two-year deal with an annual cap hit of $787,500. The first year is a two-way deal and the second year is a one-way deal.
Keyser, 24, signed a one-year, two-way deal with an NHL cap hit of $775,000.
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