WASHINGTON — It was a shocking bit of honesty, and it reopened a wound that had been closed for almost two months.
Capitals coach Barry Trotz did not mince words when discussing Kevin Shattenkirk, the defenseman Washington had picked up at the trade deadline last season and who signed a free-agent contract with the Rangers over the summer.
Shattenkirk was hardly at his best during his few months with the Capitals, as they flamed out yet again in the second round of the playoffs. And he was hardly at his best when he started his tenure on Broadway following the signing of a four-year, $26.6 million deal that was less than market value.
But just as things were settling down for the 28-year-old from New Rochelle, just as the Rangers had won six of their past seven and 12 of their past 15, just as he had found a home next to the equally talented Brady Skjei, the Blueshirts came to nation’s capital for a game on Friday night and Shattenkirk got this welcome from his old coach: ���I think everybody thought of him as a 1-2 [defenseman], and he really wasn’t,” Trotz said on Thursday afternoon. “He was a little lower.”
Trotz’s team had just practiced at Kettler Iceplex in Arlington, Va., and they were followed by the Rangers. After the Blueshirts came off the ice, what Trotz had said was relayed to Shattenkirk, and he had a response that was both truthful and measured, reflective of what he has shown of his own personality thus far.
“It doesn’t sit well with you,” Shattenkirk said. “It’s nothing that you enjoy hearing. I think there are a lot of people that probably think that about me, and I like to use that in my favor and use that as something to keep me boosted and prove people wrong.”
Shattenkirk had to answer the difficult follow-up question concerning his self-evaluation of whether he’s a top-pair defenseman, and he was humble in acknowledging his own flaws.
“I think I’m working towards it,” he said. “I think there’s a lot more room for me to grow. I think I have to handle those top-end matchups a little bit better. When I get those opportunities, I have to really make sure I make them count.”
Shattenkirk had a wonderful opportunity when the Capitals traded for him, sending prospect Zach Sanford, plus a first-round pick and a conditional second-rounder, to the Blues. The Capitals were an overwhelming favorite to win the Stanley Cup — but faltered again, losing to the Penguins in a seven-game, second-round series.
It was a tough assimilation for Shattenkirk, who struggled mightily in Washington’s first-round series against the Maple Leafs, but was slowly turning it around against Pittsburgh, scoring an overtime winner in Game 3 before the Penguins went on to win their second straight Stanley Cup.
“I think he had a patch during the one series where it wasn’t really good,” Trotz said. “I think he regained it and scored a big goal for us in Pitt. The first playoff series, that’s what you remember. It sticks out. But I think overall he was fine.”
Fine is less than what the Capitals wanted, and it’s less than what the Rangers wanted when they signed him. But according to coach Alain Vigneault, Shattenkirk has been “exactly what we expected him to be,” even though a top pairing with captain Ryan McDonagh lasted all of four periods into the season.
Shattenkirk had still put up nine power-play points, with five goals and 20 points overall through 27 games, all stats good for the top 15 among league defensemen.
“Our scouting staff and management did a real good job of evaluating Kevin and doing their homework,” Vigneault said. “We got exactly what we thought — a skilled player that can help us on the power play and a great teammate, great person in our dressing room.”
That latter quality was evident as Shattenkirk deftly handled Thursday’s situation, just as he handled his short tenure in Washington and the beginning of his time with the Rangers. It has been quite a ride for Shattenkirk over the past year, and now he can add words from his old coach to a bulletin board if he feels he even needs it.
“I think that’s my job to prove, that’s what I’m trying to do now,” Shattenkirk said. “That’s what I’m kind of working towards every day and trying to do here with New York.”