Bruins’ Kevin Shattenkirk Might Be a Nice Suprise Addition

Instead of acquiring Shattenkirk or John Klingberg, they added Dmitry Orlov from the Washington Capitals with Garnet Hathaway. Orlov proved to be the perfect addition on the backend for the Bruins with four goals and 17 regular season points following the trade and eight assists in seven playoff games. He left in free agency to sign with the Carolina Hurricanes, leaving a second void along the Black and Gold’s blue line. Instead of giving up assets to get Shattenkirk at the trade deadline, Sweeney waited until free agency to get him.

Shattenkirk Fits Into Bruins System

In reality, losing both Orlov and Clifton only opens up one spot on defense the way it’s currently constructed. When the Bruins acquired Orlov, it left Montgomery with seven defensemen for six posts, forcing one to be a healthy scratch on most nights. There were nights where Boston would dress seven defensemen with Jakub Zboril finding himself in the mix some, but Clifton found himself as a healthy scratch on multiple nights, including in the Florida series.

Shattenkirk signed a one-year, $1 million deal and it needed to be a short deal with the Bruins cap situation. One quick look makes it look like this is a meaningless signing of filling out the roster, but it is a low-risk, high-reward move. Is he going to crack the top four? Most likely not, however, he’s going to fill the third-pairing spot with Derek Forbort or Zboril. The 14th overall pick of the 2007 Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche and former player at Boston University was good for an Anaheim team that struggled in the Western Conference while inserting youth into their lineup and going through going pains, but he’s excited to return to Boston down the street from where he played his college hockey.

“[Bruins general manager] Don Sweeney called us and kind of laid out his thoughts on me and how I would fit with the team…it was pretty organic. The opportunity and the fit was what really appealed to me. Getting back to a team that’s a Stanley Cup contender was exciting. I’ve kind of lost that over the last three years being in more of a rebuilding situation,” said Shattenkirk. “Getting excited about that again is great and something that I think every hockey player will tell you is the most important thing. That is really what enticed me and ultimately led me to this decision.”

In Boston, he will fit right into the system as a stay-at-home defenseman that can provide some offense. He had more points last season than Clifton and is power play insurance at the point. He averaged over 20 minutes a night for the Ducks and will not need to play that much with the Bruins being top-heavy in the top-four. His skill set as a puck-moving defenseman is just what Montgomery’s system wants and is getting with the New York native. There is no reason that he can’t have a big season and impact in a different situation than he had been in for the last three seasons.

Shattenkirk Provides a Veteran Presence for the Bruins

Losing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement, along with trading Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno to the Chicago Blackhawks are some key forward losses. Add in Orlov and Clifton on defense, there is some key roster turnover. The luxury that Montgomery has is he returns a defensive core that played well last season and arguably gets better with Shattenkirk.

Coming in, he won’t need to log a lot of minutes a night with Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo ahead of him on the right side, and playing a third-pairing role will fit him perfectly. He is a shot-blocking machine, blocking 115 shots last season for Anaheim, and will add to a group with Forbort and Carlo that prides themselves in blocking shots for their goaltenders. 

In the overall big picture, Shattenkirk is a low-risk, high-reward move that could end up being the perfect fit for Montgomery on defense. He can provide some offense and anything they get from the backend offensively will be an added bonus for a team that will most likely struggle to score. At 34 years old, Shattenkirk goes from a rebuild situation to one where he joins a team that expects to contend and will rely heavily on their defense to do so, something that is the perfect opportunity for him to try and earn one more contract after this upcoming season. This is a situation that can be a win-win for the player and the team. Don’t be surprised to see him have a strong season wearing the Spoked-B.