St. Louis Blues Lose Kevin Shattenkirk Indefinitely to Abdominal Surgery
The St. Louis Blues will be without All-Star defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk for the immediate future after he suffered an abdominal injury in Sunday’s win over the Washington Capitals which will require surgery. The Blues issued a release on Monday evening saying that Shattenkirk will have surgery within the next seven to ten days and will be sidelined week-to-week.
It’s a huge blow to the Blues’ defensive corps, as Shattenkirk had been the best blueliner on the team this season. He had eight goals and 32 assists through 49 games and was ranked second in the league in points among defensemen.
For now, Chris Butler will replace Shattenkirk in the lineup. Butler, who had a successful run as a fill-in for Jay Bouwmeester and Carl Gunnarsson earlier this season, has been a healthy scratch for the Blues’ last seven games and has not suited up since January 10. He’d generally experienced good results, matching his career high of two goals in 20 games with the Blues while contributing two assists and registering a plus-minus rating of plus-1. However, he had a minus-4 rating in the last game he dressed for and was consequently replaced by Ian Cole in the lineup.
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It’s possible that this injury could put the Blues in the market to acquire a defenseman via trade. The team plays 14 games over the 28 days in February, and it may be difficult to keep everyone healthy during that span. 21-year-old Petteri Lindbohm has been the Blues’ next man up when necessary this season, but with Ian Cole and Chris Butler clearly being superior options at this point, it might hurt Lindbohm’s development to be sitting around as the seventh defenseman while Shattenkirk is hurt.
Others who could be considered for a promotion in Shattenkirk’s absence are 25-year-old Brent Regner, who has five goals, 18 assists, and a plus-minus rating of 15 in 45 games this year, or 6-foot-6, 227-pound 22-year-old Jani Hakanpaa, who has a goal and two assists and a plus-minus rating of minus-3 in 35 games this year.