Kevin Shattenkirk has signed a three-year, $11.7 million contract to join the Anaheim Ducks.
The 31-year-old Shattenkirk is coming off a season with the Lightning where he scored eight goals and recorded 34 points in 70 games. It was a bounce-back campaign for the defenseman where he won a Stanley Cup a year after his time with the Rangers ended with a buy out.
The deal sees Shattenkirk make $2.5M in 2020-21; $4.25M in 2021-22; and $4.95M in the final season. He’ll also be receiving $1.433M over that term from the Rangers as part of the buy out.
Kevin Shattenkirk and the Ducks’ blue line
The signing rounds out Anaheim’s top four and gives them an even split of right- and left-handed shots with Cam Fowler, Josh Manson, and Hampus Lindholm. Along with a veteran presence, he’ll also help in possession as he’s traditionally been a positive Corsi player over his career.
“If you look at who they have on the backend, guys like Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm, guys who are premier left defensemen and guys I’d love to play with,” he told TSN. “The other thing, talking to [GM] Bob Murray today, getting a feel for the direction of the team. He feels they’ve built through their young players over the last few years and now it’s time to start pushing for the playoffs and making a run at the Stanley Cup. Once I tasted it this year and how special it is to win a Stanley Cup, you long for that for the rest of your career. That’s certainly what I’m looking for.
This will be Shattenkirk’s sixth NHL team after entering the league with the Avalanche in 2010. His offense has dipped a bit after being a regular 40-point scorer earlier in his career. The Anaheim power play (14.7%), which was 30th in 2019-20, will benefit as well.
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.