New York Rangers: Why Kevin Shattenkirk is a number one defenseman

The Rangers prized free agent signing has been as advertised through 27 games. Washington Capital Head Coach Barry Trotz said he wasn’t in Washington.

The Rangers have their power play specialist in Kevin Shattenkirk. The right handed defenseman has thrived on the man advantage with the team, nearly half of his points (9) have come on the power play. However, Shattenkirk has more to offer the Rangers and in the past has done so.

“Everyone thought of him as a one or two,” Said Trotz. “But he wasn’t.”

The Capitals paid a fair price  at the deadline for Shattenkirk. He went to the nation’s capital for two depth forwards, a first round pick and a conditional second round pick. Washington did not properly use the defenseman. Trotz used Shattenkirk on the third defensive pair and on the second power play unit.

The Partners

In Washington, Shattenkirk played a majority of his minutes with Brooks Orpik. Now, on the surface Orpik’s possession numbers look okay. A 51.5 Corsi and a 54.7 expected goals for percentage are respectable numbers without looking at defensive partners.

As a pair Shattenkirk and Orpik had a Corsi of 54.7 and an XGF of 58.8 in a little under 13 minutes a night. Orpik also had the luxury of playing with Nate Schmidt, another possession driving defenseman. It’s when Orpik was away from the possession positive defenseman that his numbers cratered. Away from both Shattenkirk and Schmidt, Orpik had a CF of 45% and an xGF of 42.1%. Those are the possession numbers of a defensive anchor who holds their partner back.

In St. Louis Shattenkirk worked his possession magic on Carl Gunnarsson as well. When Gunnarsson played with Shattenkirk his CF was a 4% higher than it was without him. On the rare occasion Shattenkirk got to play with Alex Pietrangelo they outright dominated the puck. As a pair they had a CF% of 62.2 in a little over 60 minutes of ice time together.

The Blues had a gluttony of defenseman and it is part of why they moved Shattenkirk. In Washington, Shattenkirk was arguably a better option then Matt Niskanen but was buried down the depth chart. In 19 regular season games with the Capitals he did post 14 points, including seven on the power play.

The Contemporaries

Kevin Shattenkirk has the numbers of a number one defenseman, both in terms of possession and conventional scoring. When compared to contemporaries around the league and on his own team Shattenkirk holds his own.

Ryan McDonagh

Shattenkirk and Ryan McDonagh have similar career arks in terms of output. When compared using HERO charts Shattenkirk is the superior defenseman. Shattenkirk averages a number of shots surpassed per 60 minutes of ice time while being equal in shots generated, primary assists and goals per 60 minutes. The contrast in the two is their usage. Shattenkirk does not play as many minutes as McDonagh. McDonagh is featured on both the power play and penalty kill and this is where the gap in minutes is.

Shattenkirk and McDonagh should be the first pair based on their potential output. Brady Skjei is no slouch but he just isn’t on McDonagh’s level at only 23 years old. Skjei currently gets the second most minutes per night of any Ranger defenseman, just ahead of Shattenkirk.

John Carlson

The New Rochelle native’s teammate in Washington was ahead of him on the depth chart, he shouldn’t have. Carlson is a dominant offensive defenseman in the NHL, averaging .52 points per game for his career in just under a shade of 23 minutes per night.

Shattenkirk averages .61 points per game in just over 21 minutes a night. When you pair the better offensive output with Shattenkirk’s better possession numbers (CF%54.2 vs CF% 49) you can come to the conclusion that Trotz was wrong in his player usage.

Dan Girardi

Shattenkirk was signed with the intention of being Dan Girardi’s replacement on the top defensive pair. Shattenkirk even mentioned that playing with Ryan McDonagh was part of the reason he signed with the Rangers. The free agent should’ve altered the direction of the franchise.

Girardi’s just wasn’t a stout defensive defenseman anymore. Last season Girardi was among the worst defenseman in the entire NHL, his defensive prowess just a myth. He outright held McDonagh back from being the best number one defenseman he could be.

Girardi’s shot suppression numbers were outright abysmal, combine that with his possession metrics and it seemed the Rangers hurt themselves when he was on the ice. Shattenkirk was an upgrade in every facet of the game.

What it all means

There is an intense mischaracterization of offensive defenseman in the NHL. Offensive defenseman at large are viewed as a liability in the defensive zone. The Rangers have underused several offensively gifted defenseman over the years.

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Keith Yandle had the same problem that Shattenkirk does. Old school hockey coaches who don’t properly asses talent or put a value on different elements of the game. Shattenkirk’s numbers prove he  is among the best right handed defenseman in the entire NHL. Barry Trotz has a bad case of sour grapes, just because his team couldn’t beat the Penguins in the post season, again, it falls on Shattenkirk