Bruins Kevin Shattenkirk and the path from embarrassment to the Stanley Cup

BRIGHTON, Mass. — Four years ago, Kevin Shattenkirk joined a battered organization.

In 2018-19, the Tampa Bay Lightning tied an NHL record with 62 wins. None of it mattered. They did not win a single game of consequence.

The team that was swept out of the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets was still bruised when the right-shot defenseman signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract. People were laughing at the Lightning. But coach Jon Cooper and captain Steven Stamkos, among others, insisted that healing had to proceed.

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“It was a hungry room,” Shattenkirk said. “I’m sure there was a little bit of people feeling ashamed and embarrassed by what happened. But the leaders set the tone in camp. Coop set the tone in camp with — pardon my French — a no-bulls— type of mentality. We were going to get to work. Right from the start, we just expected excellence with every practice, every pass and every play we made. Eventually, that carried over into games.”

Shattenkirk was ready to work. His face was also still red from a fate he never foresaw.

An unexpected exit

Shattenkirk is from New Rochelle, N.Y. Brian Leetch was his hero. In 2017, his hometown New York Rangers knocked on his door. Shattenkirk was delighted to let them in.

He had no idea he would not fulfill his four-year, $26.6 million contract.

In 2018-19, the Rangers finished second-to-last in the Metropolitan Division. Shattenkirk scored 28 points in 73 games while averaging 18:56 of ice time per appearance for David Quinn, his former coach at Boston University. Nobody was satisfied.

On June 17, 2019, the Rangers acquired Jacob Trouba from the Winnipeg Jets. Two days later, they signed Trouba to a seven-year, $56 million deal.

Meanwhile, Tony DeAngelo was under contract. Adam Fox was coming. Shattenkirk’s time on the right side was up.

On Aug. 1, 2019, the Rangers bought out the final two years on Shattenkirk’s contract. His dream team was paying him nearly $6 million to go away.

“Definitely feeling embarrassed and ashamed,” Shattenkirk recalled. “You have a lot of friends in the New York area who were your biggest fans. When something like that happens, you feel like you can’t show your face around as much anymore. But in the same breath, I took it with a huge chip on my shoulder and made it a point to make it count.”

Neither salary nor security would be common commodities for Shattenkirk following the buyout. He had to identify employers with specific needs.

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With assistance from agent Jordan Neumann, Shattenkirk came to the conclusion that the reeling Lightning were the best fit. On the ice, Tampa needed a right-shot defenseman who could assume five-on-five responsibilities and be a second-unit point man on the power play. In the room, the Lightning were eager for a veteran who could help steady the waters.

“I knew it was a big year for me,” Shattenkirk said. “If things hadn’t gone well, it would have been tough to work myself out of that hole. That was part of the reason I went to Tampa — to play with a good group, guys who would elevate my game and force me to be my best. Obviously, things went the right way.”

Shattenkirk pointed to back-to-back November wins over the Buffalo Sabres in Stockholm, Sweden, that helped the team gain traction. They spun off 10 straight wins in December and January. They followed up with an 11-game romp in late January and February, including a 2-1 overtime win over the Blue Jackets.

On Sept. 28, 2020, with Victor Hedman as his primary partner, Shattenkirk played 17:17 in the Cup-clinching win over the Dallas Stars. The run to the Cup paid off for Shattenkirk. He scored a three-year, $11.7 million payday with the Anaheim Ducks.

Financially, Anaheim served him well. But after appearing in all of the Lightning’s 25 playoff games, Shattenkirk and the Ducks did not qualify for a single postseason appearance over the past three seasons.

He intends to fix that blemish.

A familiar feeling

Four years later, Shattenkirk, 34, is repeating history. He is joining a team that rewrote records the previous season. Most of his blue-line mates are holdovers. The room is still putting itself back together after a first-round wipeout.

“Very, very similar,” Shattenkirk said. “It’s not a focal point of conversation. It’s not something that guys are dwelling on. In my experience, even if you’re the Golden Knights, you’re not going into this year thinking about last year. You’re trying not to think about last year. You’re getting over it.”

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In Shattenkirk’s experience, it will take time for the Bruins to mend. That’s how it was in Tampa.

“At first, guys were trying to get over it,” Shattenkirk said. “People were always asking about it. Eventually, everyone got — I don’t want to say immune to it, but it became part of the routine. Eventually, it just blew away.”

Shattenkirk will need reps to acclimate, too. The Ducks played man-to-man defense. The Bruins prefer zone. Whether he plays with Hampus Lindholm, Derek Forbort or Matt Grzelcyk, Shattenkirk will have to adapt to the Bruins’ defensive pillars: killing plays up the ice, handing off coverage when appropriate, folding back to net-front coverage.

But this season, coach Jim Montgomery is encouraging his defensemen to be more aggressive in all areas. That goes well with Shattenkirk’s attacking bent.

“The urge to play offense and generate offense here is something I’m excited about,” Shattenkirk said. “I’m going to have a lot of fun with it.”

(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)

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