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The St. Louis Blues’ 2019 Stanley Cup victory appears in hindsight just like the end result of 10 years of sustained success. But a more in-depth have a look at the last decade reveals that the Blues constructed a contender from 2011 to 2016, then underwent a miniature rebuild in 2017 and 2018 earlier than embarking on the 2019 marketing campaign that in the end introduced them to hockey’s promised land.
One of the vital junctures in these two rebuilding years was the 2017 commerce of Kevin Shattenkirk to the Washington Capitals on the commerce deadline. It was not a straightforward choice for common supervisor Doug Armstrong to make, buying and selling a well-liked participant on a playoff-bound group; nonetheless, the end result allowed his franchise to construct a brighter future.
Shattenkirk’s Departure
In 2017, Shattenkirk was within the ultimate 12 months of his Blues’ contract. He’d been with the group ever since Armstrong despatched former first-overall choose Erik Johnson to the Colorado Avalanche in 2011. In the next six years, Shattenkirk grew from a promising teenager to an influence play quarterback who, no matter his defensive flaws, was as dynamic a playmaker as St. Louis had on its blue line.
But Alex Pietrangelo was the newly-minted group captain after the departure of David Backes, and teenager Colton Parayko appeared like a workhorse in his second NHL season. Armstrong couldn’t afford to pay Shattenkirk in extra of $6 million per season, a quantity he would absolutely be looking for as a free agent, nor may he present the blueliner an opportunity to play for his childhood group, the New York Rangers. So Armstrong was confronted with two selections: commerce Shattenkirk earlier than the deadline (one thing that had been rumored for years) or preserve him for a playoff run.
But Armstrong acknowledged that the departure of Backes and Troy Brouwer within the offseason had precipitated deeper wounds in his group than it appeared. He knew that his group would lose one other participant that offseason with the upcoming enlargement draft for the Vegas Golden Knights. And his group helped make his choice by dropping three consecutive video games because the commerce deadline loomed.
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There had been loads of suitors for Shattenkirk, however in the end the Capitals acquired him with their provide of teenager Zach Sanford, veteran Brad Malone (a crucial contract transfer), a 2017 first-round choose, and a conditional 2019 second-round choose. The Capitals additionally acquired again goaltender Pheonix Copley, whom the Blues had acquired within the T.J. Oshie commerce for Brouwer. Let’s check out how every bit has performed out within the years since.
Washington Capitals
Kevin Shattenkirk
Shattenkirk falls decidedly into the class of deadline acquisitions that didn’t work out for the Capitals. He scored 14 factors in 19 video games throughout the common season, however added simply six factors within the Capitals’ 13 playoff video games, not serving to them advance previous the second spherical. He departed on the finish of the season and joined the Rangers, signing a four-year, $26 million contract. But after two ill-fated years, the Rangers bought Shattenkirk out, and he moved on to the Tampa Bay Lightning for the 2019-20 season.
Pheonix Copley
The Blues returned Copley to the Capitals, the place he remained a mostly-depth goalie. But within the 2018-19 season, he served as a backup within the NHL, beginning 24 video games and profitable 16 of them. In 2019-20, he misplaced his roster spot to high prospect Ilya Samsonov, and he performed 31 video games for the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears.
St. Louis Blues
Zach Sanford
The Blues believed in Sanford and focused him within the commerce. The 6-foot-4 ahead with silky palms wasn’t a direct NHL success, although he did rating a objective in simply his second sport with the Blues. Unfortunately, a shoulder harm stored him out of the NHL for everything of the 2017-18 season, however Armstrong anticipated him to play a giant position within the following season.
The 2018-19 marketing campaign was one in all important development for Sanford. He managed simply 20 factors in 60 regular-season video games and was used sparingly within the playoffs by the primary three rounds. But he reentered throughout the Stanley Cup Final, and scored 4 factors within the ultimate 5 video games of the collection, together with the ultimate Blues objective of their clinching Game 7 victory in his hometown of Boston.
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Sanford appeared like a way more assured participant as a Stanley Cup champion throughout a lot of the 2019-20 marketing campaign. He scored 30 factors in 58 video games earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic paused and in the end concluded the common season, and on Feb. 13, 2020, he scored 4 targets in a single sport towards the Vegas Golden Knights. That sport satisfied followers of simply how excessive his ceiling is.
2017 First-Round Pick
The Blues didn’t choose a participant with the 2017 first-round choice they acquired within the commerce. Instead, they traded it once more, this time to the Philadelphia Flyers, as a part of the package deal to purchase Brayden Schenn. The Flyers in flip used the choice on Morgan Frost, a younger ahead with a really vibrant future in his personal proper.
Schenn has been a hit with the Blues, posting a career-high 70 factors in 82 video games in his first season. He adopted that up with 54- and 58-point campaigns and added 12 factors within the 26 video games of the Stanley Cup run. He scored the third objective in Game 7, giving the Blues a commanding lead within the contest. Armstrong rewarded Schenn’s consistency and group management with an eight-year, $52 million contract extension throughout the early months of the 2019-20 season. He is a fixture of the franchise’s future.
2019 Second-Round Pick (Conditional)
The two potential circumstances on this choose required that the Capitals make the third spherical of the playoffs or that they re-sign Shattenkirk. Since neither occurred, the Blues didn’t obtain this choose.
Brad Malone
Malone is a veteran of 199 NHL video games, however none of these got here with the Blues. He was a veteran contract moved on this deal for roster compliance. He joined the Edmonton Oilers the next season.
Armstrong’s Boldness Pays Off
In a ultimate evaluation, there is no such thing as a query that Armstrong’s boldness in buying and selling Shattenkirk paid off in spades for the Blues. Zach Sanford is a promising younger ahead who made a major impression on an important playoff collection in franchise historical past. He flipped the first-round choose to purchase a centerpiece ahead who will possible function a top-six attacker for years to come.
2017 was unlikely to be the Blues’ 12 months, as they’d transitioned captains and misplaced two main forwards the offseason earlier than. By making the daring transfer and buying and selling a well-liked participant on an expiring contract, Armstrong ensured that 2019 can be their 12 months, and the group captured its first-ever Stanley Cup.
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