Bruins reinforce defense with Kevin Shattenkirk signing

After the Boston Bruins signed Morgan Geekie as a flier to address their depth down the middle, the Bruins dipped into the market on defense. With Connor Clifton signing in Buffalo, the Bruins signed defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. Andy Strickland was first with the news, which has been confirmed by the Bruins.

The contract for Shattenkirk is worth $1.05 million, which isn’t bad for a veteran right shot defenseman who will be turning 35 during the year and has the ice time of a second-pairing defender. He does his best work on the PK, which should only strengthen the league’s best penalty kill in Boston.

Shattenkirk is no stranger to Massachusetts, being a native of New Rochelle, New York, and playing college hockey at Boston University. That led to Shattenkirk being chosen in the first round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche.

Kevin Shattenkirk will be solid depth on the Boston Bruins

Shattenkirk averaged 19:18 of ice time per game with the Anaheim Ducks last year and has a 20:36 average ice time throughout his NHL career. With guys like Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, and Matt Grzelcyk on the Boston blue line, Shattenkirk likely won’t have to shoulder a heavy amount of ice time, but it’s comforting that he’s able to when necessary.

Last season was Shattenkirk’s third with the Ducks after signing a three-year deal with a $3.9 million AAV and a modified no-trade clause. He scored four goals and had 23 assists for 27 points in 75 games. One of his goals came on the power play, as did seven assists.

Defensively, Shattenkirk had 31 takeaways, blocked 115 shots, and laid out 79 hits, ending the season with a -20 rating on the ice, though that also probably had something to do with the rather terrible season the Ducks had as a team.

Shattenkirk has played for six different teams in 13 seasons in the league. He has 97 goals and 363 assists to his name, with 1,196 blocked shots and 865 hits over the span of 891 regular season games. In 85 career playoff games, he has eight goals, 39 assists, and a Stanley Cup championship with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the playoff bubble.

Bringing in Shattenkirk represents a veteran addition to the right side of the Bruins’ defense, which could really use depth. He’ll be an everyday player for Jim Montgomery and company, likely on the third pair with either Derek Forbort or Matt Grzelcyk.

This move definitely doesn’t hurt the Bruins, as reliable veteran depth with a team like this will help out. We’ll see how he compares to Clifton, but in the meantime, welcome to Boston, Kevin!