Kevin Shattenkirk
“Life is all memory, except for the one present moment that
goes by you so quickly you hardly catch it going.”
-- Tennessee Williams
Seventy-two days, 32 games, regular and postseason. That is the “moment” spent in Washington by
defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who played his first game with the club on
February 28th and his last on May 10th. In that brief time he became the only Capital
defensemen in team history to play in fewer than 20 regular season games (19)
and record more than ten points (14). He
is one of only three defensemen in team history to play in fewer than 40
regular season games and record more than ten points, Lee Norwood (34 games/18
points) and Chris Felix (35 games/13 points) being the others. He is the only Caps defenseman in franchise
history to appear in fewer than 15 career postseason games with the club (13)
and record more than five points (6).
You could say he was impactful...maybe.
But if the Caps were very good before Shattenkirk arrived, it’s
hard to know if they were better – or at least more successful – after he came
to town. Washington was 13-5-1 in the 19
games in which he played for the Caps down the stretch (he missed games against
Anaheim and Minnesota), a 117-point pace over 82 games, 42-14-7 before he got
there and in his two absences, a 118-point pace.
Fearless’ Take… There have been 133 defensemen in Capitals
history to dress for ten or more games.
Kevin Shattenkirk finished the season in second place in points per game
in that group (0.74, behind Larry Murphy’s 0.76).
Cheerless’ Take… The Caps were 5-2-1 in games in which
Shattenkirk did not record a point, 8-3-0 in games in which he did. Six o’ one, half dozen o’ the other. And, they won all three games in which he did
not record a shot on goal.
Odd Shattenkirk Fact… Kevin Shattenkirk had 14 points in 19
games with the Caps. That puts him in a
tie with Roman Hamrlik and Frantisek Kucera for 76th place in
franchise history scoring among defensemen.
The thing is, Hamrlik needed 72 games for his 14 points, and Kucera
needed 56 games for his.
Postseason: 13 games, 1-5-6, minus-4
Up above we said that Shattenkirk was “impactful.” Well, here is another side to that. Only three Capital defensemen in franchise
history appeared in more than 10 games in a single postseason and had a worse
plus-minus than Shattenkirk – Brooks Orpik (minus-7 in 13 games this season)
and Dennis Wideman (minus-7 in 14 games in 2012). It was attributable to an horrific start to
his postseason, going 0-3-3, minus-7, in his first eight games, not finishing
better than even in any of them and not recording an even strength point.
If there was a strangeness to his postseason, it was in how
little the Caps’ fortunes were influenced by his performance numbers, save
one. Washington was 3-3 in games in which
Shattenkirk had three or more shots on goal, 4-3 when he had fewer; 3-3 when he
skated at least 18 minutes, 4-3 when he skated fewer; 3-2 when he was credited
with three or more hits, 4-4 when he was credited with fewer; 3-4 when he
recorded two or more blocked shots, 4-2 when he had fewer. However, the one area that did matter – and it
was really what he was brought here to provide – was scoring. The Caps were 5-1 in games in which
Shattenkirk recorded a point, 1-6 when he did not.
In the end…
One way of thinking about deadline deals (and you may think
otherwise) is that everybody loses a deadline deal except the team that makes
one and wins a Stanley Cup. It’s just
some teams lose less than others – making the second round is better than
missing the playoffs entirely. If you
subscribe to this point of view, then the trade to secure Kevin Shattenkirk was
a loser, even if perhaps a small one. On
the other hand, it was precisely the sort of deal a team makes when it is looking
for that last impactful piece for a Stanley Cup run. In that sense there is no fault in the Caps
acquiring Shattenkirk. The numbers
suggest he did just about all he was expected to do, to a point.
The fact is, he was acquired to make that
deep Stanley Cup run. But last year’s
playoff run with St. Louis was repeated in an eerie sense with the Caps. In 2016, Shattenkirk was 2-9-11 in 20 games
with the Blues, but six of his points came on power plays (all assists), and he
was a minus-8. This year it was 1-5-6 in
13 games, but four of those six points came on power plays (including his only
goal), and he was a minus-4. There was
an even strength element that seemed missing, last year and this, and not to
single him out, because one could identify any number of players or elements of
whom one could ask, “what if,” a little more production at even strength might
have been the difference between a second round exit and a long postseason
run. In that respect, his “moment” in
Washington, assuming he departs for free agency, might not be one to dwell on too long.
Grade: B-
Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images North America
